Community Worldbuilding Project [Ishka: Urban and Urbane]

[Silverscale]

Haven't gotten my computer working just yet but I've got my hard drive shoved into another computer for the moment so I was able to pull the response from earlier off of it.


I like The Derelict it seems like a great mid-level adventure.

I agree that the Soarwhales would be used for in city transport while the Airships would be more for international trade. Actually I can see a case for some nearby trade, particularly to the Elven Nation (needs actual name) to the south east, being conducted by Soarwhale as the Elves refused to allow such technical monstrosities as Airships into their lands.

Lets see here Ishka is about 550 miles long including the lake, and about 50 miles wide including Galdren, that gives us roughly 27500 square miles of air space. If we assume that the airspace is no more dense than 1 airship for every 5 square miles, then that gives us roughly 5500 Airships/Soarwhales

So far the break down is
450 Soarwhales
1 Derelick
5049 Other airships

Let's assume there are 9 other Mega-ships of one sort or another. It's safe to assume that though Ishka doesn't have as large and organized a military that it could have given it's sheer size, the Council probably does maintain an Armada, and one of those mega-ships would be it's Flagship. The rest of the Armada probably consists of about 50 ships of various descriptions, frigates, gunships, etc.

Then of course there are the Trade Ships and there are a lot of those, say about 2000.

That leave 2910 for personal yachts, sky pirates, etc. This seems like a lot of Airships maybe some of them are smaller more personal craft.

As to using re-fluffed Dragon Marks, I think we've already usurped some of them with other things like the Mailboxes. I don't see any reason not to use them but I also don't want to seem like Ishka is turning into Ebberon. There's nothing saying we can't re-fluff the airships to be powered by some other sort of magic. Don't forget we have all the knowledge of the Multiverse here so if someone wants to have a ship powered by a bunch of hamsters running for all their worth on their hamster wheels, then I see no problem with that either. Also let's not forget all those beautiful Airships from Final Fantasy 12.

Sorry about the wall of text I just had a lot of things to say.

[BRC]

Man, the sky above Ishka must be positively buzzing.

However, considering that most Ishkans live their lives in a cramped city, perhaps never seeing the sky at all, I imagine there would be a severe dichotomy between standard Ishkans and these "Sky Folk". I can't imagine that most Ishkans would willingly go onboard an Airship considering where they've lived all their lives.

[Owrtho]

Well, some might just for the novelty of it. For one thing they might not have any particular fear of heights due to not encountering them often. The open sky might be a bigger issue then the lack of ground, and the sky can be solved by going inside the cabin.

Also, forgot to mention it in the description, but the Derelict would be around 3 to 4 times the size of the average modern airship due to its upgrading of itself (even though airships were smaller when it was built). Also, given the size of things, it might have a bigger radius for detecting other airships. It also may not have quite been clear, but it spends most of its time outside Ishka's airspace (due to salvaging trade ships and the like that had problems mid route).

The various numbers seem good for Ishka's airships though. Might even be able to increase the number of trader ships as many of them would be travelling outside Ishka at any given time, and the 2000 would just be the average number that is currently in Ishka.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Man, the sky above Ishka must be positively buzzing. Well yes and no.....don't forget that a large portion of the Airships represented by that 5500 number are only 50ft long or less and even the 2000 or so Trade-ships are probably not much longer than 250ft maybe some of the bigger ones are 350ft. That would make the Derelict about 1200ft long. Actually the area that would be the most a-buzz with airship activity is around Mithral Heights, with a fair amount above The Market District and The Port District, particularly near the warehouses.


However, considering that most Ishkans live their lives in a cramped city, perhaps never seeing the sky at all, I imagine there would be a severe dichotomy between standard Ishkans and these "Sky Folk". I can't imagine that most Ishkans would willingly go onboard an Airship considering where they've lived all their lives. Well when you take into account Galdren, The Canal District, The Lake District, Mithral Heights, and the surrounding mountains, not to mention the entire top layer of the canyon, there is actually a fairly sizable portion of the population that can regularly see the sky above Ishka. At least 5% possibly as high as 10%. And, the people who live on the top 3-4 layers probably see the sky reasonably often....if not every day, then at least once a week. But yes I agree there are probably plenty of Ishkan's who would be wary of spending much time on an Airship.


have more to post but i need to go charge my cell phone......

[Silverscale]

Ok got my phone charged.....here's another one of those Mega-Ships

Point of Interest: The Queen of the Skies Skyliner
Location: The skies above Ishka
Description: Built by the same company that runs Sunset Isle, this massive luxury skyliner was built to give vacationers a world-class tour of the major vacation destinations and breath taking vistas as they travel in style and luxury. Leaving port from it's own private dock in Mithral Heights it travels to several different locations including Sunset Isle, affording magnificent views along the way. The Queen of the Skies is over 1000 feet long with 10 decks including 250 state-rooms, restaurants, a casino, and 2 observation lounges, one fore and one aft.



Also I did an image search of some interesting Airships unfortunately I can't put them up here without their URL......darn. Anyway a google-image search for Airships brings up some interesting pictures

[BLiZme.2]

Here are my tier 3 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier3.jpg) and 4 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier4.jpg) station floor plans I plan to post the main line and tier two standard flour plans later I am having trouble with PCS.
Also I think a back door pass should be a "key" as in a portal key that is locked to its owner and allows them to ether walk in to the station or the back doors when they go through the stations main door?

[Silverscale]

Here are my tier 3 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier3.jpg) and 4 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier4.jpg) station floor plans I plan to post the main line and tier two standard flour plans later I am having trouble with PCS.
Also I think a back door pass should be a "key" as in a portal key that is locked to its owner and allows them to either walk in to the station or the back doors when they go through the stations main door?

That's an interesting idea. I like what you've done with the station designs by the way.


I know we've touched a couple of times on the world outside Ishka, you know all those nations it trades with. One of the points that has been contested is wither or not Ishka is the economic center of it's world, which given the size is entirely likely. However, on a world big enough to support a massive city/state like Ishka, I think it is possible that there is more than one mega city. Even if there is only one more mega city the size of Ishka, that would give a clear rival in the world market for goods. I'm not proposing we try to flesh out another city/state like Ishka because Ishka is the primary location for the Campaign World, but perhaps if we could give it a bit more definition then "that other nation over there"

I'd say there are roughly 50 major nations around the world, at least major enough to trade with Ishka and/or "That other Nation over there". We've already decided that one of them is a nearby "Elven Nation" that has loose trade agreements with Ishka but has forbidden Airships in their air-space. There is another nearby nation across the Western Mountains that supplies a lot of refined ore (iron, silver, gold, copper, etc) to Ishka in exchange for military protection.

[Owrtho]

Not so sure about having another mega city on the same planet as Ishka. Might however have another one on a different plane that is rivals with Ishka. If so, I suggest giving it a name, basic description of it's layout, and then if more infor is desired, a separate thread to expand it in.

Owrtho

[DragonOfUndeath]

name: Buther A.K.A that city over there.
Location: either the other side of the continent or on another plane.
Basic layout: built into a Mountain.

[ForzaFiori]

name: Buther A.K.A that city over there.
Location: either the other side of the continent or on another plane.
Basic layout: built into a Mountain.

Interesting. Perhaps the original inhabitants, rather than humans, were dwarves or kobalds, or so other form of tunneling race. It can have many of the same characteristics of Ishka (the huge number of layers, lack of sun, underdark caverns, even an underground river) only inside a mountain rather than canyon, so the layers will be more circular rather than long and skinny.

[Silverscale]

For a city built into a mountain to rival the size of Ishka it would either have to be a range of mountains or a single mountain the size of Olympus Mons on Mars....I'm actually in favor if this variation. It could even be the source of some of the exotic things found in Ishka, they may be rivals but even rivals share things or at least show off to each other. Not sure I like the name Buther though......

What about some of the other nations on "Ishka Prime" (This could either refer to the planet or the Prime-material plane associated with Ishka) Yeah we should leave plenty open to DM fill in but I think we should try and define at least a handful of other nations....at least those in the "Immediate" area of Ishka. We have a Sea-port, where do the ships go to/come from? We have a Sky-port, where do the Airships trade with?

Nation Name:
Predominant Race:
General Location:
Rough Size:
Attitude toward Ishka:
Primary Trade with Ishka:
Other Interesting Notes:

[BLiZme.2]

on the prime Iska is king her vassals (metaphoricly) include
the elves across the mountains range Elair'ina
a dwarf nation across the see Sturvoltin
a human nation formed by pioneers native to the Ishkin aria long before the rise of the city Tethanis

I will suggest more later TTFN

Also Sigil and I like the one huge volcano crater mega city think the dwarf city in eregon turned to 11

Though we have implied heavily that the only things close to Iska thematically are Trantor sigil and the capital city in star wars.
But then again Ishkans would downplay the other city.

[ForzaFiori]

For a city built into a mountain to rival the size of Ishka it would either have to be a range of mountains or a single mountain the size of Olympus Mons on Mars....I'm actually in favor if this variation. It could even be the source of some of the exotic things found in Ishka, they may be rivals but even rivals share things or at least show off to each other. Not sure I like the name Buther though......


It could also go deeper. Most mountains are MUCH taller than Ishka is deep, not to mention to depth you can go down INTO the earth. With more layers, you need less surface area.

[Silverscale]

So far we have 5 other nations on Ishka Prime

Nation Name: "The Elven Nation"
Predominant Race: Elves
General Location: The forest south-east of Ishka
Rough Size: 35,000
Attitude toward Ishka: Peaceful but Aloof
Primary Trade with Ishka: Elven-craft Items including art, wine, weaponry, etc.
Other Interesting Notes: They have forbidden Airships in their air-space but allow Soarwhales.


Nation Name: "The Coastal Nation"
Predominant Race: Humans/Dwarves
General Location: The Western Coast on the other side of the Western Mountains.
Rough Size: 100,000
Attitude toward Ishka: Friendly
Primary Trade with Ishka: Refined ore Iron, Silver, Copper, Gold, etc
Other Interesting Notes: They have a protection agreement with Ishka and there are garrisons of Ishkan Mercs in all the major cities to help protect the nation and oversee the mining and trading operations.


Nation Name: Elair'ina
Predominant Race: Elves/Half-elves
General Location: North of "The Coastal Nation"
Rough Size: 25,000
Attitude toward Ishka: Neutral
Primary Trade with Ishka: A cabal of powerful Arch-mages trades powerful magic items and other magical services to Ishka. Their secrets have helped build some of the marvels of Ishka including The Great Lantern, The Great Fountain and the runes of The Boulevard.
Other Interesting Notes: Rumors abound of what wonderful magical secrets are still kept by the cabal.


Nation Name: Sturvoltin
Predominant Race: Dwarves
General Location: Across the Sea
Rough Size: 50,000
Attitude toward Ishka: Neutral
Primary Trade with Ishka: Refined Ore and Dwarven Craft Items
Other Interesting Notes: Eberkarn Gorunn, one of the original founders of F.C.C. came from Sturvoltin as a merchant/artisan.


Nation Name: Tethanis
Predominant Race: Humans
General Location: The Eastern Plains
Rough Size: 35,000Human
Attitude toward Ishka: Friendly
Primary Trade with Ishka: Food and other Goods
Other Interesting Notes: Though the nation is primarily Human there are several tribes of Haflings that wander the plains trading with Ishkan and Tethanians alike.

[Owrtho]

I'd suggest a floating nation that is for the most part only accessible via airship (or other methods of flight/teleportation). Might have rare minerals they export that can be used to make things (like airships) float.

Owrtho

[BRC]

Random Musing
While we’ve discussed a good deal about Law Enforcement in Ishka, we don’t have the actual legal system down. With that in mind, here’s my proposal.

While each individual district has it’s own legal system, some crimes, primarily those investigated by MI, are tried before the Municipal Court. This trial comes in three stages, all three courts have somethings in common. Justicars (Essentially Judges) are present in each court, and in order to prevent undue trickery (Lawyers boosting their charisma, using magical compulsion on the Jury, ect), all the courts take place in a powerful Anti-Magic Field. The Municipal Court is located in the Primordium.
The Justicar’s Court
Also known as the Raven’s Court, this court is frequently considered a mere formality, but it is very important. Here a tribunal of Justicars hears the case. It is not their job to determine guilt or innocence, but to set the terms for the trial. Their primary job is to determine which laws the defendant will be charged with breaking, or if the case even belongs in the three courts. Sometimes they send the case down to a district court. They also determine what evidence is admissible, whether any special considerations must be made, and the makeup of the jury (usually the juries are chosen at random, but sometimes, when special knowledge or experience is required to understand the case, they will specify, for example, that the jury must consist of practitioners of arcane magic, or of people with a knowledge of engineering). They also determine by what margin the Jury must make it’s decision, for serious crimes the Jury must be unanimous, but in order to avoid taking up too much of the court’s time with squabbles over minor crimes, sometimes they prescribe that the jury need only reach a simple majority, or a 2/3rds majority.
The Justicar’s Court also writes up the Report, consisting of the basic, indisputable facts of the case. Such a Report might read as follows.
On the 25th of (Month), A resident of the East Commons, Martha Cartwright, reported to the local watch that she had returned home to find her son Alex Cartwright missing. The watch conducted a search, and at 5:34 PM they found Alex Cartwright’s body nearby in the Steamworks at [location]. The case was passed to MI, who conducted an investigation.
The Defendant is Mister Jonathan Harl, he is accused of Premeditated Assault Resulting in Murder.
The Lawyer’s Court
Also known as the Protector’s court (After Saint Kenrick the Protector/the Fallen/ The Boneshield (depending on who you ask)), this is the court where guilt or innocence is determined. A Justicar oversees the proceedings, but the decision is up to a jury of everyday citizens (See above). After the Justicar’s Report is read, the Defense and Prosecution give their version of events, and then proceed to present evidence.
If the Jury finds the defendant Guilty, then the case is sent to the third court.
The Hangman’s Court
Also known as the Crusader’s Court (After Saint Baltin, the Crusader). The name is misleading, as this court rarely prescribes the death penalty. It’s job is to Sentence the Criminal (If you reach this court, you are considered a Criminal). Once again, a tribunal of Justicators rules (though they can get a suggestion from the Jury). The Defense and the Prosecution both present a suggested sentence, if these sentences are identical (usually the result of a deal between the two sides) then the Justicator’s almost always agree (Though they are not required to).

[BLiZme.2]

I rely don’t like the flying nation idea.

Silverscale are those all new or have you dredged some awesome up from depths of the thread?

I also think we need some nation that attempts to be antagonistic though they are only a bee sting at best and they really know they can’t do much I lean away from ether druids or a traditional evil races as those are ether to stereotypical or covered as a motif in the setting but beyond those I have no clear ideas.

BRC you are an endless font of win.
Look everybody we have a justice system. The question is what kind of an appeals prose if any. One thing we should cover is exonerating evidence coming to light this kind of thing will come up in many if not most reasonable campaigns.

[BRC]

BRC you are an endless font of win.
Look everybody we have a justice system. The question is what kind of an appeals prose if any. One thing we should cover is exonerating evidence coming to light this kind of thing will come up in many if not most reasonable campaigns.
Hrmm.
Maybe District Courts can appeal to the Municipal Court (Provided the Justicators approve the case). An especially important case might be appealed or tried before the City Council, though that would pretty much be limited to the crime of High Treason.

Most evidence used must be vetted and approved by the Justicar's Court. However, if new evidence comes to light after the Justicar's Court has convened, it is possible to get it approved for use.

The simplest matter is to privately present it before the Justicar presiding over the trial, get it approved, and then use it in court. Now, this is a risky tactic. Usually, both sides see the evidence their opponents have during the Justicar's trial, if you get evidence approved in this way, you can surprise the opposition. However, if the Justicar believes that you had this evidence before the Lawyer's Court began, they will likely disprove it, and you may even be charged with Withholding Evidence or Tampering with a Trial In-Progress.

The other, more dramatic option, is to claim that this new evidence drastically changes the nature of the case. In which case you can move to have the entire case retried, starting over at the Justicar's Court. In order to do that, you need approval from the Justicar presiding over the case, and from three justicars to form a new Tribunal.

If new evidence arises after somebody has been foudn guilty, you can undergo a similar process, stating that the new evidence is important enough to exonerate them. You can request a new trail. Of course, this is tricky to pull off unless you've got some serious new evidence (Like somebody else confessing to the crime).

[BLiZme.2]

@ BRC that sounds a bought right (FYI ,and I think this is weird, in the US an expert on any topic pertinent to a trial can be excluded from a jury because they might conflict with expert whiteness and in historic England you needed to know the defendant because then you could judge them? Weird stuff) also what is the compensation for being on a jury and I assume it is illegal to be fired or otherwise penalized for jury duty (it might still happen but it would be illegal).

Here is my tier 1 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier1.jpg) and 2 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=Tier2.jpg) floor plan and a tentative floor plan for PCS it is in two floors 1 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=PCSfloor1rough.jpg) & 2 (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/Station/?action=view&current=PCSfloor2rough.jpg). Also here are my preliminary revisions of the lake (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/MyMap/?action=view&current=Back2.jpg) and port (http://http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/MyMap/?action=view&current=Front2.jpg).

On the Port map.
Every island is part of the city and has buildings spanning between it and its neighbors or the shore with small for ships water level passages under the city and bridging except the single large channel which is clear throughout.

On the Lake map
Do you guys think the channel district should come out of the grove or the mages district ie the top mage or bottom grove (my preference is the mages district but I want to here any dissenting opinions)?
The millennium grove district would creep into the upper crust Lake District whose mane I forget and don’t want to look up just now along the islands on the bottom of the map in my opinion
The mages district port would be along the lake shore near the start of the river and going partway up the ?inlet{right word?}? and if the channels come out of the mages district they would be based around that inlet and the peninsula it (the inlet) forms one edge of.( upper crust Lake District is primarily in the lower right section of the lake and most of the center { much of the mage port and some of the wider deeper channels probability have much higher “ceilings” than most of the “clear” sections of the lake})


On the T1 and 2 stations
the small squiggles on the left and right sides are where you could stretch the station and make the building square you would add more benches and shops and would recenter the info kiosk 1 blue square is 5 feet

Interesting aside most maps of and presumably in Ishka would not be oriented north up by default bit rather east or west up (I am partial to up river to the right and down river to the left and I don’t know why it just seems right to me) depending on weather the river flows NS or SN.I think this would mean most if not all Ishkan cartographers orient there maps to match up with the standard orientation of the city for convenience. This has some odd implications but is jus one more cool little detail of the setting IMO.

Also I reiterate did we decide the mountains are to the north or south I do not recall.

[Silverscale]

@BRC: Once again you are a shinny light of brilliance. Would it be safe to say that, with some variations, this is how the District Courts work as well? I say some variations because obviously some of the districts will have their own ideas of how courts are to be run, but most have decided to adopt similar systems with the addition of their own flavor.

@BLiZme.2: The first two nation I outlined were ones I had previously mentioned some 20 pages ago and seem to have been generally agreed on. The other three were the ones you named and I just gave them a little extra flavor.

In regard to The Canal District, I would go with having it come off of the Mages Port.

In regard to The Port District, as written the Nature Preserve, Sphen, is what occupies the ends of the peninsulas and most of the island.
Point of Interest: Sphen
Location: The Port District
Description: What began as a small village of Water Shugejas and Druids who's only interest was the observation of local wildlife on an Island of the coast of present day Ishka, has since become absorbed by the city as it spread toward the ocean. Home to may different types of flora and fauna not found anywhere else, the Druids made a deal with the city to keep the area as a nature preserve. Sphen has since expanded to include all the islands that surround the harbor as well as a significant portion of the peninsulas coming off of the main land. The Druids and Water Shugenjas have stayed to continue their observations and also to protect the site. In exchange they help protect the Harbor and it's waters, helping to keep the waters calm and the trade winds blowing. At this point there are foot bridges connecting the islands to each other as well as to the peninsulas. These bridges are part of a network of trails set up throughout the sanctuary where visitors can come to observe the magnificent wildlife for themselves. Though there are no Stations or any other "city buildings", there are several tall observation towers that dot the islands. There are also a pair of Light Houses that mark the entry into the Harbor.
In regard to the orientation of Ishka, so far in my description of the nations surrounding Ishka and it's surrounding geography, I have been going under the assumption that Ishka runs from the lake in the north to the sea in the south, with the river therefore running north to south. I like you idea of having maps essentially oriented with North being the right side instead of the top. It makes it interesting and quirky, and just makes one more thing that outsiders have to get used to.

@Owrtho: I like your idea of a floating nation which I suggest should be fairly far away from Ishka, perhaps even on a different continent. However, if people don't like the idea on Ishka Prime, then perhaps one of the Secret Districts is on a "Pandora"esque planet that supplies "Float Stone" to Ishka

[BLiZme.2]

On the port my bad thanks. Is it cool if we cut the peninsula bit though? It makes drawing this easier as I won’t have to redraw it again with "real" peninsulas? Any objections anyone?

@ Silverscale we appear to have miscommunicated I will explain later i have to go now.

[Silverscale]

On the lakes my bad thanks. Is it cool if we cut the peninsula bit though? It makes drawing this easier as I won’t have to redraw it again with "real" peninsulas? Any objections anyone?

@ Silverscale: we appear to have miss-communicated I will explain later i have to go now.

You have me very confused right now....i didn't say anything about the lakes except as a tangent in reference to The Canal District. Are you talking about The Port District????? if that's the case then what you have looks great. Actually the way you have it drawn the buildings of the Port District would fill in the peninsulas and Sphen would encompass the islands.

[BLiZme.2]

Yes I was talking about the port my bad it is edited. I was in a rush and misread before I posted I was in an unexpected rush and did not have time to write my whole post.

The lake reference came up because I was going to point out that if the channels came out primarily from the port itself then they would cut strait through the heart of the mages district on its way out whereas if they came out from the inlet (& therefore the edge of the port) they are closest to where they are used. Plus that means we aren’t mixing the flavor of those two districts. Further it makes more sense to use the closer location and there would be less magical runoff as well.

So on to the main point first you’re description looks like this (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Nationsketch.jpg). Correct?

We have a small issue the listed elf nation is Elair'ina (at least that’s what I ment) it was the only other nation I remembered so I named it. I was not clear on that sorry my bad.

I have taken the liberty of drawing a world map to explain my preferred layout and here is the first draft (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Tectonicmap2.jpg)with tectonic plaits and labels. Here (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Worldmap.jpg) are just the landmass and some rivers.
The ruins are the nation the golden army was used on and as I recall there was originally a desert to one side of Ishka and the channels serve to irrigate it thus the western side is a desert and I put the ruins to the east.
I put the elves of Elair'ina to the north because they are over the mountains and near the lake as described before

Interesting consequence for the weathered to make sense (i.e. there is rain shadow west of Ishka for a desert) giving my drawing the planet would spin west to east not east to west like earth.

[Silverscale]

Yes I was talking about the port my bad it is edited. I was in a rush and misread before I posted I was in an unexpected rush and did not have time to write my whole post.Now it makes sense....Hopefully the compromise from my last post makes everything work.


The lake reference came up because I was going to point out that if the channels came out primarily from the port itself then they would cut strait through the heart of the mages district on its way out whereas if they came out from the inlet (& therefore the edge of the port) they are closest to where they are used. Plus that means we aren’t mixing the flavor of those two districts. Further it makes more sense to use the closer location and there would be less magical runoff as well.That makes more sense....we don't need The Canal District down the middle of The Mages District.


So on to the main point first you’re description looks like this (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Nationsketch.jpg). Correct? If the relatively straight line with the circle at one end is Ishka then yes that's a very crude map of the world around Ishka. I imagine that's only a very small portion of the planet as it's really only naitons that surround Ishka


We have a small issue the listed elf nation is Elair'ina (at least that’s what I ment) it was the only other nation I remembered so I named it. I was not clear on that sorry my bad.But it works nicely to have the two different nations who each contribute something different to Ishka


I have taken the liberty of drawing a world map to explain my preferred layout and here is the first draft (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Tectonicmap2.jpg)with tectonic plaits and labels. Here (http://s910.photobucket.com/albums/ac308/BLiZme2/Ishka/?action=view&current=Worldmap.jpg) are just the landmass and some rivers.
The ruins are the nation the golden army was used on and as I recall there was originally a desert to one side of Ishka and the channels serve to irrigate it thus the western side is a desert and I put the ruins to the east.
I put the elves of Elair'ina to the north because they are over the mountains and near the lake as described beforeThey're a little hard to make out but from what I can tell they look good


Interesting consequence for the weathered to make sense (i.e. there is rain shadow west of Ishka for a desert) giving my drawing the planet would spin west to east not east to west like earth. Not every planet has to spin the same direction.

[BLiZme.2]

Now it makes sense....Hopefully the compromise from my last post makes everything work.

Kay


That makes more sense....we don't need The Canal District down the middle of The Mages District.

agreed


If the relatively straight line with the circle at one end is Ishka then yes that's a very crude map of the world around Ishka. I imagine that's only a very small portion of the planet as it's really only naitons that surround Ishka

Yes. Yes. and Yes.
Yes it is it was just to get the relation down


But it works nicely to have the two different nations who each contribute something different to Ishka

how about we move one to the eastern continent that also explains why elves are the original natives of the sunset isles {they are elves right?} (whichever is on the Ishkan continent has the air ship ban the other dose not IMO) that still means we don’t know who lives on the south western island and where the human colony not on the Ishkan continent is (also how dos the name Kragonmorth sound for the dwarf continent?).


They're a little hard to make out but from what I can tell they look good

I will se what i can do about that.


Not every planet has to spin the same direction.
True im just pointing it out So the sun rises in the west and sets in the east :smallbiggrin:

[Silverscale]

how about we move one to the eastern continent that also explains why elves are the original natives of the sunset isles {they are elves right?} (whichever is on the Ishkan continent has the air ship ban the other dose not IMO)
That works i guess. I just think they shouldn't be too far away since they've played an important role in the development of Ishka with all of their secrets of magic, in colaberation with The Collected Colleges and The Mages District.


that still means we don’t know who lives on the south western island and where the human colony not on the Ishkan continent is This may be part of the "DM fill-in"


(also how dos the name Kragonmorth sound for the dwarf continent?). Works for me.

[BLiZme.2]

Well if we are reversing the fluff Vis-à-vis the geography and the name we can jus go with they use lots of teleportation and get around that way as they are the world master mages in that case and maybe the Elair'ina elves are traditionalists who left the old country in disgust millennia ago.

oh oh oh i just had a stroke ... Of brilliance maybe the human colony mentioned sailed to a largely uninhabited section of the eleven home continent and eventually the two cultures merged (driving the Elair'ina into the arms of there Fae cousins across the see) and now the "old country" is a half elven nation with ancient elven secrets tempered with human adaptability and ambition?


I like the idea of leaving the western continent up for dm customization good call IMO.

[Silverscale]

Point of Interest: River Walk Trail
Location: Along the river near a section of Grove.
Description: Though most of the river is poorly light and not very attractive to look at with all the buildings overhead, some sections particularly those that run near sections of The Groves, have been maintained as scenic walks were people can take in a bit of nature even at the bottom of the city. Like The Groves, River Walk Trail is actually several separate sections of trail each not much more than a few miles long depending on how big the nearby grove is.

[Silverscale]

{Uh oh! Ishka made it to page 4.}

I've updated the Wiki to reflect the recent additions. Anyone have any more ideas for other nations, or special airships?

[Owrtho]

Not off the top of my head. Something I was wondering though, how does Ishka relate to the Far Realm? Seems like there might be some special stuff with it.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

how does Ishka relate to the Far Realm? Seems like there might be some special stuff with it.

Well one of the Labs in The University is connected to the Far Realm through a series of Gated Pocket Dimensions. And we have Deepmire which is a district for all things strange, although that's mostly for strange things from this realm not so much the Far Realms.....

Perhaps the Far Realm is the source of some high level problem for players to take care of. I don't think Ishka should be directly connected to the Far Realms because that would just be too weird even for Ishka.

[Temassasin]

(hi im new to thread)
first i think that the far realm could be the orgin of the gate raiders.
second i notice there are only two evil saints.

Person of interest (saint)
domains greed, evil (any others?)
Kalim Vommehr was one of the greatest Alliance assassins and was one of the first. After joining the Alliance his crimes became more and more audacious, attacking some of the most important people in Ishka, eventually he try'd to assassinate the city council, and failed. which was followed by a city wide man hunt (Ishka was not nearly as big back then) but that to was fruitless. Many think he's still alive but they ARE just conspiracy theorists, right? Eventually a shrine popped up to him in the temple district
when ever the shrine was closed it would pop up again somewhere else the next day (always in temple district) eventually they just stopped trying.


have Edited. thanks Owrthro and Silverscale (i have checked the wiki [the info on Hulect was out dated but i did do a pretty bad job at fixing it

[Silverscale]

@Temassasin: First of all welcome to the thread. Be careful of Thread Necromancy since this is an oldish thread.

Interesting idea about the connection between the Far-Realms and the Raiders.

As to the Saint, It's been a while since I have given much thought to Ishka so at the moment I'm not sure about it. Let me look through my Wiki (which I suggest you do as well to get an easier to follow description of everything) and I'll get back to you on that idea. Off the top of my head it seems like the start to a good idea that needs to be fleshed out a bit more....what where his major crimes? when was he around? is he still around? what did he do to get the Alliance started?.........

[Owrtho]

Well, I'd first note that this has for the most part been considered complete, but more due to people not being able to think of more to expand on than anything else. As for your suggestions:

the gate raiders are intentionally left without an official origin (similar to Ravenshome and for mostly the same reasons). They it give the setting something the dm can fill in if they want, or leave unknown and can add some mystery to the setting. That said, there are possible explanations offered, and as such that could work well as one.

As for the saint, you make a good point on the lack of evil ones. That said, I'd suggest some changes. First, no one knows who the founder of the Alliance is. Again that is similar to the above, but also due to the rather indistinct nature of the Alliance, the lack of any proper record keeping at the time it was made, and the fact that it was intentionally kept secret when started and those who took part in the formation would have worked to keep such information from getting out.
As such there are two ways to go with adjusting the saint. Make it just a prominent early member of the alliance, or make it similar to the Stone Raven, where it is less a known individual, and more a concept or idea. If the latter is chosen, I'd propose the following:

The Founders
Domains: pick some that fit
While the identities of the original founders of the Cut-Throat Alliance are a mystery, there are still those that would pray to them for help. As such shrines for the Founders began to appear. Often they can be seen hidden or tucked away in alleys or currently empty buildings of the Temple District, though due to their illicit nature, are often gone if one seeks to return. The founders are usually depicted as three cloaked figures in conference, of which no distinguishing features may be made out. No one is certain why three was chosen as the number, and indeed there are occasionally those shrines that have only two or have four or more, but three is by far the most common. Rumour has it that somewhere in the temple district there is a temple to the founders, and that it may be accessed through some of the smaller shrines that show up, though if such a place exists it would likely need to constantly be moved.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Well, I'd first note that this has for the most part been considered complete, but more due to people not being able to think of more to expand on than anything else. As for your suggestions:

the gate raiders are intentionally left without an official origin (similar to Ravenshome and for mostly the same reasons). They it give the setting something the dm can fill in if they want, or leave unknown and can add some mystery to the setting. That said, there are possible explanations offered, and as such that could work well as one.

As for the saint, you make a good point on the lack of evil ones. That said, I'd suggest some changes. First, no one knows who the founder of the Alliance is. Again that is similar to the above, but also due to the rather indistinct nature of the Alliance, the lack of any proper record keeping at the time it was made, and the fact that it was intentionally kept secret when started and those who took part in the formation would have worked to keep such information from getting out.
As such there are two ways to go with adjusting the saint. Make it just a prominent early member of the alliance, or make it similar to the Stone Raven, where it is less a known individual, and more a concept or idea. If the latter is chosen, I'd propose the following:

The Founders
Domains: pick some that fit
While the identities of the original founders of the Cut-Throat Alliance are a mystery, there are still those that would pray to them for help. As such shrines for the Founders began to appear. Often they can be seen hidden or tucked away in alleys or currently empty buildings of the Temple District, though due to their illicit nature, are often gone if one seeks to return. The founders are usually depicted as three cloaked figures in conference, of which no distinguishing features may be made out. No one is certain why three was chosen as the number, and indeed there are occasionally those shrines that have only two or have four or more, but three is by far the most common. Rumour has it that somewhere in the temple district there is a temple to the founders, and that it may be accessed through some of the smaller shrines that show up, though if such a place exists it would likely need to constantly be moved.

Owrtho
Interesting but I'm going to wait to see what other people have to say....if anything.

[Temassasin]

a bit of history of Ishka

centuries ago when ishka was starting to use magic in its construction two magicians had a feud about different ways magic should be used. Tom Edwardson was a very talented Enchanter making many constructions which were very powerful such as the great lantern and the (forgot name used by fire fighters) though then they were only useful locally. Nik lates ( La-Tez) was a Enchanter who was not as strong as his old teacher ,Edwardson, but was ingenious it is through his work that Edwardsons devices could work eveery where not just locally.
PS. 100 points for whoever can tell where i got the names from.

[Silverscale]

a bit of history of Ishka

centuries ago when ishka was starting to use magic in its construction two magicians had a feud about different ways magic should be used. Tom Edwardson was a very talented Enchanter making many constructions which were very powerful such as the great lantern and the (forgot name used by fire fighters) though then they were only useful locally. Nik lates ( La-Tez) was a Enchanter who was not as strong as his old teacher ,Edwardson, but was ingenious it is through his work that Edwardsons devices could work eveery where not just locally.
PS. 100 points for whoever can tell where i got the names from.

Thomas Edison and Nickola Tesla.

[Temassasin]

Thomas Edison and Nickola Tesla.

correct(was it really that obvious) anyway anybody have a campaign for Ishka we only have 1 so far and thats about a giant trash hole

[ForzaFiori]

correct(was it really that obvious) anyway anybody have a campaign for Ishka we only have 1 so far and thats about a giant trash hole

I was in two, both of which died within a month. (first one was within a week or so)

[Silverscale]

correct(was it really that obvious) anyway anybody have a campaign for Ishka we only have 1 so far and thats about a giant trash hole

I'll give you a free internet if you can identify the name-sake of the F.C.C. (The description can be found about half way down on the Points of Interest page in the Ishka Wiki to help refresh your memory)

[DragonOfUndeath]

This is back? Sweet.
It did feel mostly fleshed out but there did seem like there were some things that could be expanded on

[Temassasin]

I'll give you a free internet if you can identify the name-sake of the F.C.C. (The description can be found about half way down on the Points of Interest page in the Ishka Wiki to help refresh your memory)
Federal communication commission?

[Silverscale]

@DragonOfUndeath: Yup it would seem it is.

I think this time around we need to focus on creating some of the major NPC's. Some were already created for the 2 PbP games that got started and I will be asking permission to add them to the Wiki and expand on them a bit but we need to flesh out more. Ishka is home to over 1 billion beings, most of them with levels in one class or another, and relatively few low level commoners, if any.

@Temassasin: Nope. read the description on the Wiki. Although that reminds me I don't think Ishka has anything like the Federal Communications Commission, hmmm there are lots of news papers and mail and stuff, but I don't think we ever stated out anything like a radio......

Also you're right we do need another campaign idea for Ishka to help make it playable. thoughts?????

[Temassasin]

@DragonOfUndeath: Yup it would seem it is.

I think this time around we need to focus on creating some of the major NPC's. Some were already created for the 2 PbP games that got started and I will be asking permission to add them to the Wiki and expand on them a bit but we need to flesh out more. Ishka is home to over 1 billion beings, most of them with levels in one class or another, and relatively few low level commoners, if any.

@Temassasin: Nope. read the description on the Wiki. Although that reminds me I don't think Ishka has anything like the Federal Communications Commission, hmmm there are lots of news papers and mail and stuff, but I don't think we ever stated out anything like a radio......

Also you're right we do need another campaign idea for Ishka to help make it playable. thoughts?????

by flesh out do you mean stats?



Start of a campaign

there have been a unusual amount of accidents lately from fires to building collapses and the Alliance is held responsible
(sorry if you don't know what i am talking about when i say tiers i run[or would run] 4th edition)
heroic tier. finding information:
the heroes face low level humanoids or outsiders
quest hooks include infiltrating various alliance cells, proving themselves to various incorporouls who the players can use as spys, and stopping various people from announcing the danger which could cause anarchy. at the final confrontation the heroes face a tough fight at one of the alliance bosses hideouts where they find info on a list of names including several prominent people some are circled but others are crossed off.

paragon tier. bodyguards:
the heroes fight many high level assassin type monsters almost the whole tier they fight assassins on either there charges or at higher level themselves. at the end of the tier a thankful target finally tells the reason these people were attacked.
epic tier. end game:
the saint dragons have finally amassed enough wealth for end game. this time instead of competing for hoard size they are playing for ishka itself.in the first part of the epic tier the players try to prevent anarchy as long as they can for time to prepare. in the next part anarchy reigns the players try to keep things runnings eventually facing the to dragons (either with support or one at a time)
so like it?

[Owrtho]

The first two ideas seem like they could work, though I'm not so sure about the epic tier part. It also seems like there are plenty of other opportunities for an epic level game in Ishka without targeting the saints.

Another suggestion for a campaign would be something as follows, though it needs a good bit of fleshing out:
PCs get hired to make a run of the Derelict as it has been spotted entering Ishka's sky's.
During or after the capturing of goods on the skyship, one of the PCs manages to get an item that was on it.
The item turns out to be of some large amount of importance to a group of people in Ishka, as well a branch of the Alliance due to an as yet undetermined use for it. During the early game, both groups would, upon learning the PCs have it, try to steal it from them, though as both groups would also be trying to stop each other from doing so, the attempts wouldn't be that powerful early game. Eventually the PCs manage to find out the reason behind the increased number of attempts on their lives, at which point they may choose to side with one of the groups, or to continue on their own to use or destroy the item. Regardless there will be opposition.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

That would make for an interesting campaign but what do the two Dragons have to do with The Alliance?

[Temassasin]

That would make for an interesting campaign but what do the two Dragons have to do with The Alliance?

the red is manipulating them the gold is manipulating the the council.

owthro it also might be that its the rival city

[Temassasin]

i want to address something. what about sigil with ishka there really isn't that much need of sigil except for the lady

[Silverscale]

i want to address something. what about sigil with ishka there really isn't that much need of sigil except for the lady

Ishka is doesn't even need to be in the same verse as Sigil although if a DM wanted to include both in the same campaign, they could be Planar Rivals.

[Temassasin]

Ishka is doesn't even need to be in the same verse as Sigil although if a DM wanted to include both in the same campaign, they could be Planar Rivals.

i agree

also some optional rules for ishka
because of the high density of magic in ishka magic items can sometimes act weirdly
once per month roll a d20 for each magic item of the party ?= talk with group before implementig

1-15: nothing happens
16-17: magic item bonus increase by 1
18-19: magic item becomes a normal item for 1 d6 weeks (artifacts not included)?
20: roll a d6 and refer to following table

1: item gains sentience though only of a beast (this means that 1.the item can alert you, darkvision, true sight can't tell player exactly but can convey emotions such as distrust. 2. if theres a ritual which turns items to artifacts it is cheaper,)
2. creates a homunculi or other construct out of discarded metal (depends on item higher level better construct also if its armor the magic creates a non magical weapon out of materials around and vice versa which player get with the magic item when construct is destroyed) which serve the owner of the item.
3.same as 2 except hostile?
4. a damage resist or bonus to attack the DM chooses the type but armor gets resist and weapons get the bonuses. bonuses = level. example a level 8 palidens chainmale is effected and gets resist 8 necro.
5. a specific spell becomes tied to the item. such as walk on water tied to a staff which the owner can then use to use the spell even if they don't know that spell or haven't prepared it?
6. i would actually like people to vote on it if people like the rule

important items such as the lantern and fountain have been enchanted so they aren't effected. point out any flaw please and tell me what you think..

[Owrtho]

Most likely, any items made in Ishka would already have this accounted for in their creation. However, it could work for items made outside of Ishka, as well as those made by inexperienced enchanters (at least inexperienced when it comes to the ambient magic in Ishka).

Owrtho

[BRC]

Woah, We're talking about Ishka again? Man, blast from the past!

Ishka is doesn't even need to be in the same verse as Sigil although if a DM wanted to include both in the same campaign, they could be Planar Rivals.
Having done some quick reading on Sigil (Skimming Wikipedia), I imagine that, if one were to put them in the same setting, they wouldn't deal much with each other. Despite both being massive cities full of portals, few, if any, portals directly connect the two.
The Ishkans look at Sigil, ruled by the Lady, and see a monolithic dictatorship. The Sigilites see Ishka as a seething anarchy. Sigil was more or less built to be a city, located on top of the Spire. Ishkans just happened to build their city ona weak spot in reality and more or less broke through.

Most likely, any items made in Ishka would already have this accounted for in their creation. However, it could work for items made outside of Ishka, as well as those made by inexperienced enchanters (at least inexperienced when it comes to the ambient magic in Ishka).

Owrtho
Definetly, Magic Items are too frequently used in Ishka for the sort of effect Tema described to work.

As for Campaigns, one problem with making a generic Campaign (That is, one any group of characters can take part in) for Ishka is that, most problems would be handled by official authorities. You could always set the campaign with the PC's as part of said authorities, or have the problem be one the authorities can't, or won't, do something about.

Hrmm, maybe something to do with the PC's needing to expose a corrupt high-ranking member of MI. (Maybe said MI is a Hulutch Cultist, he's supposedly going after corrupt members of the Gatekeepers. In reality, he's hoping to spread chaos and madness by sending high-ranking Gatekeepers to the Vault, thus impeding the city's ability to stop Gate Raider Attacks, which have been on the rise)

[Owrtho]

Woah, We're talking about Ishka again? Man, blast from the past!

It sure is, so what's the ETA on the next chapter of Graveyard Shift?


As for Campaigns, one problem with making a generic Campaign (That is, one any group of characters can take part in) for Ishka is that, most problems would be handled by official authorities. You could always set the campaign with the PC's as part of said authorities, or have the problem be one the authorities can't, or won't, do something about.

That's where in my suggestion I used something that would cause trouble to go after the PCs rather than them going after trouble. That said, you could also make a game based around the PCs being criminals (though not necessarily evil) and thus unable to rely on the proper authorities.


Hrmm, maybe something to do with the PC's needing to expose a corrupt high-ranking member of MI. (Maybe said MI is a Hulutch Cultist, he's supposedly going after corrupt members of the Gatekeepers. In reality, he's hoping to spread chaos and madness by sending high-ranking Gatekeepers to the Vault, thus impeding the city's ability to stop Gate Raider Attacks, which have been on the rise)

Seems like an interesting idea. Would be worth expanding upon.


Also, not quite related to the current conversation, but a thought I had on the way the three Saints of Justice are viewed (I know that it had a bit of discussion already but this is slightly different).
Baltin is seen as the vengeful spirit of justice, which seeks first to deliver punishment on those that have done wrong, yet without the temperament of restraint, it can be little better than those that do wrong, and without seeking to help the wronged, they suffer despite the deliverance of justice.

Kenrik is seen as the protective spirit of justice. Seeking first to protect and aid the wronged. However, this can leave the wrongdoer free to harm others and escape, and without proper regard for his own position, can go to far in helping one individual and thus leave himself unable to help another.

The Stone Raven represents the letter of the law without its spirit. It carries out justice to the exact specifications written, taking care of both the wrongdoer and the wronged. However, without taking into account the spirit in which the laws are written, can show a cruelty beyond that which the wrongdoers commit.

As such for true justice to be carried out, one must look to all three, and exercise the the proper balance of each. For one without the others can be worse than none at all. (something often considered to be the case in Ravenshome)

Owrtho

[Temassasin]

Most likely, any items made in Ishka would already have this accounted for in their creation. However, it could work for items made outside of Ishka, as well as those made by inexperienced enchanters (at least inexperienced when it comes to the ambient magic in Ishka).

Owrtho
i did say really important stuff such as the lantern and fountain would be protected

[Silverscale]

i did say really important stuff such as the lantern and fountain would be protected
Yes but practitioners would never make much money if they didn't take into account the ambient magic of Ishka so anything magical made in Ishka would already have it accounted for. However Owrtho is right most anything made outside of Ishka and those things made by inexperienced enchanters would be subject to the kind of random effects you describe.

Also don't forget that given the high dependency on magic to run the city with everything from The Stations to the fact that most of the architecture is at least partially supported by magic, Ishkan enchanters have taken measures against the threat of an AMF and other such magic canceling problems.

Actually that reminds me.....are Artifacts effected by AMF's? Because all of the big magic items throughout Ishka would certainly qualify as Artifacts. Heck for that matter the city itself could almost be considered an Artifact.

[Temassasin]

Heck for that matter the city itself could almost be considered an Artifact.
hm that is genius how about Ishka being a giant artifact though most people don't know it heck we could make a entire npc class which channels magic from ishka itself (probably not but you get the idea) i mean it could actually be the main villain in a campaign with the pcs eventually fighting it and and stopping the magic that makes it into what it is( this does NOT mean that ishka is destroyed just the magic which gives it sentience) or some mad wizard could try to siphon off magic to become a saint.

[Silverscale]

Uhhh...that's not what I had in mind and I'm not sure how that would actually work since it's already been stated that Ishka started out as a perfectly mundane fishing village.
However, that's not to say that your idea doesn't bare ponderance.....IDK lets see what other people think about it.

[ForzaFiori]

Perhaps the campaign deals with Ishka BECOMING an Artifact. It certainly fits the requirements. Perhaps as it is becoming sentient, an evil mage begins a rise to power, and starts to corrupt Ishka's power. Depending on the type of campaign, the players could either help the mage, turn ishka into a neutral or good artifact, or prevent the change all together.

[Owrtho]

While I could certainly see Ishka qualifying as an artefact, I don't get where this idea of sentience is coming from. As far as I'm aware, an artefact is simply a powerful rare or unique magical object, which Ishka certainly is (if somewhat larger than what object would usually entail).

I could however see a campaign focused around stopping someone or something from making Ishka sentient.

Owrtho

[Temassasin]

While I could certainly see Ishka qualifying as an artefact, I don't get where this idea of sentience is coming from. As far as I'm aware, an artefact is simply a powerful rare or unique magical object, which Ishka certainly is (if somewhat larger than what object would usually entail).

I could however see a campaign focused around stopping someone or something from making Ishka sentient.

Owrtho

4th edition = all artifacts are sentient. Maybe Ishka is already sentient but a evil mage want' to corrupt it so that he could rule ishka (basically he would know everything inside ishka) then the city itself could be there patron.

[Silverscale]

4th edition = all artifacts are sentient. Maybe Ishka is already sentient but a evil mage want' to corrupt it so that he could rule ishka (basically he would know everything inside ishka) then the city itself could be there patron.

Yes but we've been making this for 3.X not 4.0 and I don't recall artifacts being automatically sentient in 3.X. That's not to say that your idea is invalid just the assumption behind it.

[Temassasin]

Yes but we've been making this for 3.X not 4.0 and I don't recall artifacts being automatically sentient in 3.X. That's not to say that your idea is invalid just the assumption behind it.

sorry but is it sentient or not?

[Owrtho]

First, I'd like to say that all artefacts are sentient sound horrible. On to the matter at hand though.

I'd say no. It wouldn't quite seem to fit, with how much of Ishka is. That isn't to say some parts of it aren't sentient (Ravenshome being a likely candidate), but having multiple such portions just means it is more unlikely that it is as a whole.
That said though, there could be some plots to make it sentient, and other trying to oppose it. In part perhaps due to the presence of other sentient portions, and the risk that granting awareness to the whole thing would just cause one of those portions to become present throughout all Ishka (think of how bad it might be if Ravenshome were to suddenly expand to contain the entire city). Also for the issues of if it were to be corrupted though.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Among other places that are sentient throughout Ishka, there is the Millenium Tree at the head of the Canyon, and by extension much of the plant life around it. One could argue that there is a kind of sentience somewhere in the Necropolis which would account for why so may people come back as undead as apposed to just dying. There is probably some amount of sentience floating around in both The Mages District and The Collected Colleges.

So I think Owrtho has a very good point. Not only are there various sentience's that would probably be affected by a Nationwide sentience coming about, but there are probably different factions trying to not only oppose such a thing but on the other hand there are others trying to make one or the other the "dominant" one.

One a side note; personally I could very easily see some faction from The Grove Districts trying to make The Millenium Tree the dominant sentience through a ritual that would awaken all the plant life in all the various sections of the Grove District, and throughout Ishka (possibly even beyond), into a kind of hive mind.

[Temassasin]

Perhaps the collected colleague and the academy have a rivalry?

[Owrtho]

I seem to recall that the two are already related in some fashion. It has been a while though so I can't quite recall what precisely.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Perhaps the collected colleague and the academy have a rivalry?
Do you mean in so far as each wants to promote their sentience as the dominant sentience of Ishka? Yes probably.

I seem to recall that the two are already related in some fashion. It has been a while though so I can't quite recall what precisely.

Owrtho
Yes and no. The Academy is basically Ishka's equivelant of either a State or Private College, The Collected Colleges is more along thing lines of think-tanks like MIT or DARPA

[Temassasin]

Do you mean in so far as each wants to promote their sentience as the dominant sentience of Ishka? Yes probably.

well most districts want to be dominant ( with a few exceptions mostly different commons sentients) but most have a opposing part (steam works vs great tree district, Necro vs temple, etc.)

[Silverscale]

well most districts want to be dominant ( with a few exceptions mostly different commons sentients) but most have a opposing part (steam works vs great tree district, Necro vs temple, etc.)

True but most Districts don't have any form of sentience to speak of, beyond the creatures that live/work there. Yes "technically" the Millenium Tree is a creature of sorts but, it's also MASSSSSIVVEEE and houses many other creatures.

[Temassasin]

any way i imagine it sort of like this http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080818 except less dangerous/insane,doesn't have a master, and was always fragmented


anyway i don't remember if any body fleshed out Gulliver's heights i have some ideas about that

[Silverscale]

any way i imagine it sort of like this http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080818 except less dangerous/insane,doesn't have a master, and was always fragmentedIntriguing...for now lets let other people chime in about this particular idea to see what they think.




anyway i don't remember if any body fleshed out Gulliver's heights i have some ideas about that Any ideas you have are always good...I know we never did decide on The Mages District and how it interacted with Magetown although I'm tempted to go ahead and make Magetown a sub-section of The Mages District. Also we never did any sort of write up for The Lake District so if you want to give that a shot feel free.

As I said any ideas you want to lay down feel free.

[Temassasin]

Name Gullivers Hights
Other Names Bigtown, Giant Haven, The Hights
Government Type Marital: The strongest smartest or otherwise best rules
Police Force The Greaters: a police force which causes almost as much problems as they solve
Most of Gullivers Hights population descends from a tribe of Giants which once attacked Ishka in its early days. though they almost destroyed the city they eventually had to surrender. at that time the chieftain was a giant named Gulliver who realized that the tribe would die out soon if they fled and allowed the warriors of Ishka to pursue them and so demanded that the giants got there own district as part of the sue for peace. Now centuries later other large creatures have moved in making it a place for all of them.

[Owrtho]

Well, I'm against the idea of the majority of Ishka having sentience, though the reference to Castle Heterodyne does give me an idea.

District: The Mad Manor
Government: The Fractured Conciousness
Police Force: Various Millita and The Fractured Conciousness
Description: The Mad Manor was once a collection of a few commons, which were home to a group of casters tasked with a job by the council of Ishka. Having seen how well crime was Managed in Ravenshome, the council hired the group to try constructing a controllable sentience that might be applied to Ishka as a whole, which would be rather more benign than the Ravens. At first the work went well, and a stable personality was given to a Manor in which the development was taking place. However, trouble occurred when the casters took their work home with them. It is uncertain how many or who all was involved, but various parties who had a vested interest in the proceedings and hoped to possibly expand their power with them started bribing or otherwise convincing the various casters hired for the task to make certain features exist in the personality. The casters, hoping to add them in private sought to do so in the privacy of their own homes before bringing the work back and adding it to the main project. Unfortunately, the numerous conflicting changes made broke the conciousness. Worse, by working on the portions outside the main grounds, the various portions managed to infect most of the four districts in which the casters were staying. Instead of a single conciousness that could enforce or observe the area, over a hundred small ones were made throughout the district, all trying to enforce various policies.
Becoming aware of each other, the various consciousnesses began warring hoping to gain dominance, while the people who lived there started siding with those they agreed with most. Eventually the number of conciousness dwindled, and violence caused by their fighting became less common, but the district is still heavily divided and open hostility abounds.

Not my best work but I got distracted part way through and just sorta tried to wrap it up. The district gets its name from the manor that things started in.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

@Temassasin: I like what you have and it mostly jives with what's on the Wiki for Gulliver's Height's I will mesh the two together in a bit and post to see if you like it.

@Owrtho: So i guess you're not against the idea of parts of Ishka becoming sentient. You said they caster's were tasked with making it more benign than The Ravens but then different factions started putting there 2cp in about how the project should go. Obviously this led to the fractured sentience that you describe but is the end result still benign? Or is it just as madly dangerous as the one in the comic?

EDIT: Here's what i came up with for Gulliver's Heights after combining the two togehter.

District: Gulliver's Heights
Other Names: Bigtown, the Tall Heights, Giant Haven, The Hights
Government Type: Thranething, a council made of representatives of each of the giant races living in the district, with speaking, nonvoting places for ogres and other non-giant big guys. How the selection works is left to each race; though generally the strongest, smartest, or otherwise best rules. The Thranething chooses its representative for the council, currently a wealthy merchant named Jonyrhing 'Little Jon' Rhutthym, a fire giant of great size.
Police Forces: Mountain Guard, a force made up of various giant races, but with a disproprotionate number of Stone Giants and Fire Giants. Answers to the Thranething. Sometimes they causes almost as much problems as they solve
Description: A minor majority of Gullivers Hights population descends from a tribe of Giants which once attacked Ishka in its early days. though they almost destroyed part of the city, they eventually had to surrender. at that time the chieftain was a giant named Gulliver who realized that the tribe would die out soon if they fled and allowed the warriors of Ishka to pursue them and so demanded that the giants got there own district as part of the sue for peace. Now centuries later other large creatures have moved in making it a place for all of them.

The giants in Gulliver's Heights tend not to venture into the uncomfortably cramped areas of the rest of the city, instead allowing little folk who would seek their company to brave the broad streets of Bigtown. Different parts of the district are dominated by different races of giant, and the clouds above it are stationary- they're part of the district, too, and the home of cloud and storm giants. The district has a few guest rooms in cupboards, closets, and such, for medium and small visitors. One curious bylaw of the community is that it is illegal to cultivate beans within its limits.

[Owrtho]

Actually I am against the city becoming sentient. I forgot to put something on the end that the idea was abandoned after the trouble it caused there. I just happen to like the idea of some sections of Ishka being sentient (and while it may be debated if Ravenshome is, it was the closest explicitly mentioned section before hand and one of my ideas). In general, the problem I see with a city wide awareness is it would either cause most anything of interest (ie crimes, secret activities that may not be illegal, etc.) to be easily stopped by the city always knowing of them (or have the part of the city being aware ignored for convenience), or be so ineffective as to might as well not exist. Even if such issues are avoided, it still could drastically change the feel of Ishka (making it something like either Hal or Big Brother where people need to be careful of observation, or making is a frequently large plot element with people always trying to abuse or control it for their own ends)

The Fractured Conciousness would be either benign or as bad as in the comic depending on which section (if any) you support, the given section you're dealing with, the what is going on, and if any witnesses are around, among other things.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Word....and yes I agree making all of Ishka sentient would completely change the setting, but I also agree that certain sections being sentient and "hopefully" benign is a cool idea.

I'll give you a chance to edit your description since you said you hurried at the end before I add it to the Wiki.

[Temassasin]

i was wondering how does the plane of dream effect ishka?

[Silverscale]

i was wondering how does the plane of dream effect ishka?
I will have to take a look at my copy of Planescape to see what ideas it might spark. Good question.

edit: looks like I'll have to wait until I get home tonight because the copy I have on my computer seems to be corrupted.

[Silverscale]

Ok I couldn't find much (read nothing) on the Plane of Dreams. How does is generally interact with the Material Plane? I would assume from the name that one usually interacts with the Plane of Dreams while sleeping. Given the shear amount of beings in Ishka I'd say there's probably a strong connection there to the Plane of Dreams though probably not in the same sense that there are connections to other planes through the various gates. Since it's probably true that at any given time in Ishka, that there are thousands of people asleep and presumably dreaming, then the connection is probably fairly constant though neither consistent nor in a fixed place.

[Temassasin]

i was thinking why none of the planes swallow Ishka so i was thinking of a good reason none wouldn't be able to and i came up with the idea that each plane balanced each other so that Ishka is the center of a sort of tug war which could support a lot of adventures in which the adventurers try to keep balance or stop Ishka from being ripped to peices.
V not swallow each other swallow Ishka

[Silverscale]

What do you mean by one plane swallowing another?

[DragonOfUndeath]

What do you mean by one plane swallowing another?

Massive invasion?
Like Mechanus stealing that LG Plane?
Magic 'I steals yur Planez LOLZ' type effect?

[Temassasin]

not swallow each other just Ishka

[Silverscale]

But the Planer Handbook specifically says that the environment/etc from one side of a gate does not pass through to the other side of the gate. That's how you can have an open gate to the Plane of Fire without actually buring your house down. The fact that there are gates in Ishka specifically described as allowing though fire and water to create steam means that those are special gates. The majority of gates are actually quite stable at least as far as whether or not things get sucked from one side to the other. Besides the ones that do draw things from one side to the other are invariably described as drawing things into Ishka, like the fire and water, not the other way around. So it would be difficult for another plane to swallow Ishka.

A better question would be why Ishka hasn't swallowed the Planes of Fire and Water.

This is in no way meant to negate your idea of an adventure designed to prevent Ishka from being sucked into another dimension. After all, if Ishka can create specialized gates that allow energy to be drawn from the elemental planes, then it is perfectly reasonable to assume the same ideas could be used in reverse from another plane.

[Vadin]

I believe the trash and/or its means of disposal getting too big and swallowing up Ishka was mentioned at some point.

[Silverscale]

The problem of trash was proposed as an idea for a campaign arc as a problem in need of solving. However there already exists the Trash Corps and The Hole in the Ground.
The Trash Corps .....pick up the trash and bring it to landfills, burn it, compact it, recycle it, etc. They also maintain the sewers (except for its structure, which is left for the Street Builders). They are generally understaffed, although for some reason the richer districts always have their trash collected on time.
Point of Interest: The Hole in the Ground

Description: The Hole in the Ground was discovered by builders converting a second-story shopfront in an apartment. When removing the floor, instead of seeing the room below they saw the Hole.

The hole is exactly 20ft in diameter and appears to be bottomless. It also has the curious ability to prevent all form of flight, both magical and mundane (starting 50ft from the top).

The Hole in the Ground is now a major tourist attraction. For a mere 1 Silver you can look in to hole and for 4 silver more you can drop something into it.

In addition a thriving rope making industry has developed in the area around the Hole to provide for those who wish to climb down.
The Garbage Campaign
Diviners have discovered that the city's bottomless hole is finally filling up. After two months it will no longer be useable as a dump spot for all the city's garbage and sewage. If the city is not prepared by then, it will be very, very bad.

The adventuring party has been commissioned as an Emergency Garbage Task Force, E.G.T.F. They have been given various assignments to complete within a two month time period.

Assist in the creation of landfills and recycling plants.
-Get funding from individual residents of Mithral Heights for the creation of landfills and recycling plants. This would lead to a number of smaller quests, one for each resident being obtained.

-Reduce widespread vandalism in Hedon that is using up all the streetbuilder's time, preventing them from being able to work on large scale projects. A crime lord is causing gangs to use vandalism on government properties in Hedon.

-Convince the dwarven district to give up a new cave they found, so that it can be made into a landfill. You must give them something or perform them a service that they deem equal in value.

-Convince tiny residents of the city to map out all the hidden and forgotten places in the city that might be used as landfills. They have been having problems with another district lately, and would like your help in resolving the matter.

Help establish the Arcane Sewers.
-Convince a high level arcane spellcaster to head up the division of trash corps that runs the Arcane Sewers.

-Monsters born in the Arcane Sewers are attempting to break past the barricades. Quell this dangerous rebellion. Depending on how complex the Arcane Sewers are, this could be a whole dungeon.

Slow the fill of the bottomless pit, thus increasing the time allowed to complete the campaign. These are optional to the quest.
-Convince druids of The Grove and wizards of The Academy to create a fast reproducing subspecies of Gelatinous Cubes. Then devise a way to safely drop the cubes into the bottomless pit.

-Buy high-yield explosives from a prominent gnomish inventor. These are meant to expand the lower parts of the pit. This option is not available during the final week of the campaign; the pit would be too full at that point, and the explosives would be dangerous.

Also, in order to provide a reprieve from a plot-heavy campaign, there is a mandatory concert you must put on. You must help a theatre troupe put together a concert meant to raise awareness of developing a garbage-conscious lifestyle.

Finally, the campaign ends in front of the pit, where a ceremony is held. During the ceremony, a monster emerges from the pit. You must defeat it with the aid of the city's forces and the high level caster you recruited for the Arcane Sewers.


Intro-
The Garbage Campaign

You are standing in your boss’s office. She is sitting behind a wooden desk covered with stacks of paper and scrolls. She quickly makes red marks on documents while she talks to you.

“Hello everyone. I’ve called you here for a very important duty. As you all know, the city uses a bottomless pit for its entire garbage and trash disposal. Recently spelunkers have discovered that the pit is not truly bottomless, and that it will be full soon. If the city does not have a fully functioning alternative garbage disposal method when the pit fills up, all hell will break loose.

“You have been commissioned as an Emergency Garbage Task Force, or E.G.T.F. for short. There are several objectives that you must complete before the pit fills up. This document here lists all of the objectives and sub-objectives.”

The DM hands each player a copy of Document 1A.

“Now, The Academy predicts that the pit will fill up completely in three months. If you have not finished your job by then, it may be too late. The Academy did postulate some ways to delay the pit’s filling up. I included those in the document.

“Oh, about objective three, I’m sorry about that. I don’t think there’s any point to it, but the City Council put it on there.”

Your boss stops doing paperwork and looks up, “The city needs you. You’re all we can spare, everyone else is working on maintaining the city or other garbage related duties. Don’t expect any help. That being said, do you have any questions?”

After the players ask questions, they can decide where to go next. The DM may decide what the player’s boss would or would not know.

Document 1A-

E.G.T.F. Objectives
The following are a list of duties assigned to you, a member of the Emergency Garbage Task Force.

1. Assist in the construction of junkyards, landfills, and recycling plants.
a. Discover the reason for rampant vandalism in Hedon. The vandalism is using up a considerable part of the Street Builder’s time, preventing them from building landfills as quickly as needed.

b. Recently the Dwarven District discovered a gargantuan cave. Convince them to allow the cave to be used as a landfill, instead of a residential location.

c. Acquire donations from prominent families in the Mithral District. The donations will go to creation and maintenance of recycling plants in the Steamworks.

d. Convince several families of giants and ogres in Gulliver’s Heights to move so that their neighborhood can be turned into a landfill.

e. Organize citizens of Smallville for the purpose of searching the city for unknown planar gates. Any newfound locations that are uninhabited will be used for landfills.

f. Discover the source of dire animals in a giant compost farm in Galdren.

2. Ensure the quality of the Arcane Sewers.
a. Convince one of the city’s more well known arcane magic users to become the new head of the Arcane Sewers. Anyone on the following list would be acceptable.

i. Alabaster Grant, retired guard from The Museum.
ii. Onigh, first half-orc professor of the arcane in The Academy.
iii. Elinor Crinne, talented daughter of Mithral Height’s Crinnes.
iv. Dr. Despair, a lich that was once in the employ of Dr. Hope.

b. Ascertain the safety of Arcane Sewers barricade, and eliminate any potential dangers within the Arcane Sewers.

3. Raise the citizenry’s awareness of the garbage problem.
a. Convince a well-known theatre troupe to put on a play addressing the issue of garbage.

b. Find a large suitable location for the play to be held on a regular basis.

c. Attend the play on opening night and make sure everything goes smoothly.

4. Assist in an MI investigation of a plot by The Wild to derail the garbage effort. The Wild wants the city to fall apart after it can no longer handle its own supply of garbage. Use one of the following methods.
a. Infiltrate The Wild and dismantle their plot from the inside.

b. Discover key members of The Wild and assist in their arrest.

c. Convince The Civil Servants to station a significant amount of guards at all landfills and recycling plants.

I’ve included some ways that you can slow the pit’s filling up - Boss
Some members of The Grove and The Mage District were working on creating a quickly reproducing gelatinous cube. If a few dozen of those were put in the pit, it could considerably slow matters. However, several weeks during the project’s conception, The Wild attacked part of The Mage District. A large amount of the Mage District blamed The Grove, and the project was called off. If you can bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, you may be able to convince the teams from The Grove and The Mage District to work together again.

Additionally, there is a gnomish inventor that lives on the Lake District. He specializes in high-yield explosives. They are extremely expensive, but you can try to convince him that he should donate some. If the explosives are dropped in the pit, it could widen considerably at lower elevations, increases the space for garbage to fill.

If you can come up with any other ideas on how to slow the pit, you have unlimited access to the pit. Feel free to use your own solutions.
End of Document 1A

I've made a revised introduction for the Garbage Campaign.

Intro-
The Garbage Campaign

You are standing in your boss’s office. She is sitting behind a wooden desk covered with stacks of paper and scrolls. She quickly makes red marks on documents while she talks to you.

“Hello everyone. I’ve called you here for a very important duty. As you all know, the city put its magical garbage into a large pit deep underground. The idea is that we can avoid dangerous complications of trying to keep so much arcane materials near the city.

The idea didn’t work out well. As it turns out, a planar gate opened up near the bottom of the pit. Letting the trash go into some other plane would be fine, but apparently the trash attracted something to the gate. Clerics all over the city have been getting warnings from their gods that a creature of disturbing strength is trying to get through the gate.

Now we need to close that gate. The city is devoting a significant amount of resources to moving all the trash outside of the pit. Once all of it is moved, the planar gate can be sealed. But all that trash needs someplace to go. That is where you come in. You will be helping the moving of trash, and securing a safe place for all the trash.

“You have been commissioned as an Emergency Garbage Task Force, or E.G.T.F. for short. There are several objectives that you must complete as quickly as possible. This document here lists all of the objectives. Essentially you are helping to build The Arcane Sewers.”

The DM hands each player a copy of Document 1A.

“Now, The Academy predicts that the pit will take three months to empty. Any delay in that will increase the chances of that terrible beast reaching the gate before it closes. “

The players’ boss looks at them sternly, “Make sure that you do not cause ‘any delay.’

“Oh, about objective E, I’m sorry about that. I don’t think there’s any point to it, but the City Council put it on there.”

Your boss stops doing paperwork and looks up, “The city needs you. You’re all we can spare, everyone else is working on maintaining the city or other garbage related duties. Don’t expect any help. That being said, do you have any questions?”

After the players ask questions, they can decide where to go next. The DM may decide what the player’s boss would or would not know. Depending on what objectives they decide to complete first, the DM should adjust difficulty accordingly.

Document 1A-

E.G.T.F. Objectives
The following are a list of duties assigned to you, a member of the Emergency Garbage Task Force.
a. Discover the reason for rampant vandalism in Hedon. The vandalism is using up a considerable part of the Street Builder’s time, preventing them from building The Arcane Sewers as quickly as needed.

b. There is an old sewer system surviving from before the city became a thriving metropolis. It barely still stands, but we plan on turning it into the basis of The Arcane Sewers. You need to map the sewers out, and clear out any dangers inside them.

c. Acquire donations from prominent families in the Mithral District. The donations will go to creation and maintenance of The Arcane Sewers.

d. Convince one of the city’s more well known arcane magic users to become the head of the Arcane Sewers. Anyone on the following list would be acceptable.

i. Alabaster Grant, retired guard from The Museum.
ii. Onigh, first half-orc professor of the arcane in The Academy.
iii. Elinor Crinne, talented daughter of Mithral Height’s Crinnes.
iv. Dr. Despair, a lich that was once in the employ of Dr. Hope.

e. Raise the citizenry’s awareness of the garbage problem. It will be helpful if teh amount of arcane garbage in the future is reduced. Convince a well-known theatre troupe to put on a play addressing the issue of garbage. Find a large suitable location for the play to be held on a regular basis, and attend the play on opening night to make sure it goes smoothly.
Also consider that the average person in a fantasy world such as Ishka, is not going to create anywhere near as much trash as a modern day person in a country like America where we create tons of trash a year; mostly from the packaging of things we buy in a highly consumer based society.

And anyway Temassasin was talking about another plane, such as the Plane of Air, swallowing up Ishka, no whether or not Ishka would be inundated by it's own production of trash and other waste.

Sorry I got lost on a tangent there for a while and forgot what I was getting at with this....anyway....We still haven't figured out how Ishka may or may not interact with the Plane of Dreams other then a near constant presence within the plane since at any given time in Ishka several hundred/thousand people are going to be asleep.

[Omeganaut]

I joined this forum partly to say this is an amazing world and if (more like when) I decide to go into DMing, I would certainly love to try this world. I have a few ideas, but I am currently really busy so I don't know how much I can contribute, and I don't want to contribute half-finished ideas which recently seem to have lost their merit. Also, I don't want this thread to straight out die because I feel that the world that Ishka resides in is unfinished, and that the city could maybe use either more districts. These districts do not have to be as fleshed out and storified as the existing ones, but anything to give a better idea of the actual diversity and size of the place may help.

[Silverscale]

Any half formed ideas you have are welcomed. We're pretty good about spinning gold from straw. We've just run out of any fresh ideas to spin. Or at least the discussion has slowed considerably.


Anyway throw out what ever ideas you have and we'll see what comes of them. I'm glad to hear that you're interested in running a game in Ishka.

[Rob Roy]

Any half formed ideas you have are welcomed. We're pretty good about spinning gold from straw. We've just run out of any fresh ideas to spin. Or at least the discussion has slowed considerably.

On that note, I've been lurking in this thread for a while, and I've been tossing around a few ideas in my head for districts. I'll post them once I think the ideas are presentable, but I was wondering how well a district populated by Diabolic immigrants straight from the Nine Hells or a completely magic and psionics dead district where Humans First make up over half the population would mesh with the city itself. There's certainly weirder things going on in this city.

EDIT
We really should also reach a consensus on what's outside of the city(especially the nation that doesn't like Ishka and the one over the sea.I f only to have character from elsewhere getting into comical mishaps while trying to adjust to this monstrously large city). If there's enough interest I could start a thread on Buther(ie. the city in the mountain founded by either dwarves, kobolds, some other underground race, or all of the above) and we could roll it in as an alternate setting on the Ishka wiki.

EDIT(again)
Presenting the devil ran district for review. I'll try and stat up the Xibalbians later, as well as the descriptions of the related P.O.I.s, and a reworded backstory for Ixtab.

Spoiler'ed for length
District: Xibalba
Other Names: Minihell, the Slave Markets
Government Type: Theocratic Oligarchy
Police Force: Soul-Collectors. If you're convicted of any crime within the Slave Market, your soul is bound to a gem which is then given to whichever merchant king that runs the section of the district. You are essentially that king's (or whoever it sells your soul too, if it chooses to do that) until an amount of time equel to your crime is served,
at which point you are free and your soul is returned to you. Crimes such as petty theft will net you one year of slavery, while first degree murder will get you 50 years. Crimes such as treason are tried through the Municipal Court, as normal.
Related P.O.I.s: The Great Temple, The Slave Markets
Description: The history of Xibalba and Ixtab, Saint of Refugees, is one and the same. It begins as such: Some millennia ago, a group of imps, who in there dissatisfaction with the Arch-dukes of Hell, plotted a method of escape. When a group of adventurers from the Prime came along, thinking they could challenge the mighty Arch-dukes, they quickly convinced them they would be killed, and were also able to convince them that they could only claim victory if they accepted aide from the imps. The imps would only help the Primes if they took them back to the Prime with them. The Primes foolishly agreed, and casted a spell to take them home. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the Primes wizard botched the spell and they were sent somewhere distinctly not the Prime. But it wasn't a Lower Plane either, and in that the imps had hope. The imps killed the Primes and wandered the planes, trying (and failing) to set up their own little tyrannical dictatorship everywhere they went. However, their travels changed them, and they grew more intelligent, ruthless, big. Their once useful wings became vestigial, and their tails completely vanished. They became what is now known as Xibalbians.They became Mortal. Eventually, the now canonized, Ixtab was born and as she grew up she gained a more than healthy fascination with magic. However, unlike most wizards, she cared not for the theories, all she cared for were the results. By her two hundredth birthday, she was one of the most powerful Xibalbian politicians, and she used her power to become the only Xibalbian politician. In other words, she became an absolute monarch, queen of the most vile group of refugees in existence. With the unquestioning support of her people, she was able to migrate them all to the Prime, through a spell of her own making. And it worked, unfortunately the spell sent them to a spot on the Prime where reality was week, where inter-planar gates where, and are, common. Thousands of devil spawned monsters appeared in Ishaka, and this was before Customs and Immigration was established. Indeed, there are some that say it was established because of the appearance of the Xibalba. The city and the Xibalba were immediately hostile, indeed it is only because of Ixtab that the fighting stopped and the District of Xibalba was formed, and its people named after it. Ixtab ruled the district for one hundred years, until she, in darkest hour of the districts artificial night, hung herself. This was around two hundred years ago. Many still debate why she did it, but the official explanation is because she could see that the future of the district lay, not with one ruler, but with seven. Her seven sons took over the district the next day and have ruled with an iron fist as the Merchant-Kings ever since. One-hundred and fifty years ago the city was forced to canonize Ixtab, as the Patron Saint of Refugees, Perseverance and Tyrants.

In this day and age, the district is well known for its unique and horrifyingly delicious cuisine(most of it made from intelligent species), its multitude of slaves (most of which are being bought and sold at it's numerous markets), and the fact that no matter where you go the Soul-Collectors are always watching you. During the day, the air in the district glows in what could only be described as "hellfire red", and at night the streets are completely empty, as being on the streets a night, is of course, illegal. Most people from outside the district prefer to avoid the place if at all possible, but people from inside the district are surprisingly patriotic, viewing the district as an independent city-sate in an alliance with Ishka. The district itself only uses a language simply called Xibalba, for official and day-to-day use, most people being only semi-fluent in Ishkan.

[Silverscale]

@Rob Roy: So far I like what you've got. Where in Ishka do you see this District, i.e. what other districts do you think are probably nearby, how big would you say the district is relative to other districts, what relationship would the Merchant Kings have politically to other districts?

I assume they come into conflict regularly with The Temple District. Do they keep a seat on The Council?

Also I'm interested in this Magic/psionics-free District you mentioned.



Keep the ideas flowing. When I get my computer back I'll be able to more easily edit the Wiki.

Also if you can come up with better names for the districts besides the purely descriptive ones such as The Market District, that would be cool too.

[Silverscale]

Sorry Double Post.......

I went ahead and Added Xibalba to the Wiki along with The Mad Manor. Both will be updated if anything else is written about them.

[Omeganaut]

I went through the whole thread, and I want to reintroduce and interpret some of the ideas that were lost through neglect or lack of consensus of how to move on.

First, the Market district should be edited to show the fact that it’s a multi-story affair with tunnels unground catering to shady deals between cheating spendthrifts, as well as a bridge high overhead catering to the most wealthy with an astonishing array of luxury items.

I want to say that Everdark and the Dark City are actually far apart, because if they are right next to one another, they will bleed together. Maybe Everdark is where those who have serious mutations or deformities live, where the high dark peoples live in the Dark City, which should get an appropriate Drow name.

I’m going to expand on the canal district, which I see somewhat like San Monaco. “In times long past, the first great economancer, a Halfling named Equestor “Leado” Fluvius foresaw the true expansion of the economy, and to stay a step ahead, offered his life-long services in return for him and his descendants becoming tributary kings of a separate area in-between the lake and the best farmland. The city was happy to accept, and it was partly as a result of his services, the city grew from mostly mining and fishing to a commercial metropolis. The city is in charge of its own internal affairs officially, but in fact only really controls the economy and leave the rest up to the municipality. A highly trained group of Economancers control the economy, and have the power to destroy the finances of those who sell defective or deadly items in the district.

I also feel like most nations in the world either have a resource that is valuable to Ishka so they are trading partners, or that the race is against cities, whether due to a link to nature, xenophobia, lack of intelligence, or other prejudices. Otherwise the inhabitants probably would just move to Ishka to get rich.

I have a few ideas for districts and organizations, specifically ones that create possible conflict for more campaign choices. I was thinking rich/poor tension would definitely exist. Also, maybe have a practical organization to challenge the "my way or the wrong way" ideology of some of these organizations.

[Rob Roy]

@Rob Roy: So far I like what you've got. Where in Ishka do you see this District, i.e. what other districts do you think are probably nearby, how big would you say the district is relative to other districts, what relationship would the Merchant Kings have politically to other districts?

I assume they come into conflict regularly with The Temple District. Do they keep a seat on The Council?


Also I'm interested in this Magic/psionics-free District you mentioned.


I see it as near the temple, and maybe Gobin, but if you don't like two xenophobe districts near each other then feel free to move it. As for its relation to the temple, Ixtab is a canonized saint, and I'll probably make a P.O.I. for her temple in the temple district later. Of course Ixtab isn't well liked outside of Xibalba, and in Xibalba she's considered a goddess, so I imagine the two districts don't like each other. The Merchant Lords are rich. Not as rich as the Twin Dragons, but pretty close, and they use there money to influence the city into things like giving them a seat at the council, canonizing Ixtab, and generally getting whatever they want. However the Merchant Lords don't get along, so they rarely combine their wealth to pull of such feats. I'll write up the magic dead zone district once things with Xibalba are settled. I'm also thinking of doing a dwarf district, combining it with the Narrows (Or at least making more dwarf P.O.I.s in the Narrows Nevermind. I'm just going to elaborate on the districts that have ???? on any part of their entry.). Anyway, can anyone think of names for the Merchant Lords?

EDIT
The Grand Temple
Point of Interest: The Grand Temple
Location: Both in the Temple District and Xibalba
Description: There are two exteriors to The Grand Temple, which is dedicated to Ixtab, however due to some quirks of geography in a magic saturated area, they both lead to the same interior. If you attempt to teleport into this interior, the spell will simply fail, or if you're unlucky, you'll be sent to the Astral Plane. Attempts to teleport from within the temple simply fail. The Temple interior is patrolled by both the Soul Collectors and the Holy Swords, but only the Holy Swords can be seen, as the Soul Collector are required to maintain invisibility while they're on guard duty. The Temple itself is 7 levels high, stretching from the lowest layer of Xibalba to its highest and in it's center is a seven layer tall statue of Ixtab, made of solid diamond and encrusted with jewels. At it's base the words "Seek Her and She will find you" are carved into the diamond, in both Ishkan and Xibalbian. The Temple is considered to be the most holy place in existence by Ixtab's followers, but everyone else considers it a tragedy that the place exists, much less that the Merchant Lords were able to get the Streetbuilders to build it. IF you deface the temple, or mock Ixtab within Xibalba, you can look forward to a few millennia of slavery, as the Merchant Lords tend to frown on people mocking their mother.

Yes, the Merchant Lords to have an entire race worshiping their mother. The laws of this district can be summed up a "Whatever offends the Merchant Lords is illegal", and these guys have the secret police to enforce the insanity.

The Slave Markets
Point of Interest: Slave Markets
Location:Xilbalba
Description:The most famous part of Xilalba, to the point where on of it's alternate names it Slave Markets. This is where millions of criminals are bought and sold every day. It's not a pretty place. It's one of the many reasons very few people would ever willingly come within th district.


**Xenophobia District**
District:Hume
Other Names:Mages Nightmare, Xenophobia
Government Type: Welfare State
Police Force:The Militia
Description: Magic does not work in this district, nor does psionics. As many of Ishka's inhabitants are mages, or have magical abilities, and all but a few of them use it every day of their lives, very few people think of this place as habitable. The few people who don't use magic every day of their lives live here, in a small district at the bottom of the canyon. All of the permanent residents of this district are human, and all believe that humanity settled here first and everyone else should just leave. While it is against the law to kill a non-human here, the district government looks the other way on such cases. In addition to Humans First, The Collective also has massive support in this district and it has been able to put some of it's ideals into practice here.

The district itself is located near a Steamworks, and in exchange for the district doing all it can to back unions in all disputes with the Merchant leaders, the Unions have been able to provide all the homes in the city with electricity from the power plants, and other devices.

This district needs a much better name.

[Silverscale]

@Omeganaut: Wow I don't envy you the task of having read through the entire thread (which is why I created the Wiki in the first place) I added your bit about Equestor “Leado” Fluvius to the description of The Canal District on the Wiki. In honor of his family and the work they have done for Ishka perhaps the district is called "The Fluvian Canals" instead of "The Canal District". I don't know..... what do you think?

@Rob Roy: Please keep the ideas rolling. I've added your 2 P.O.I.s and Hume to the Wiki as well. As to a better name for the Merchant Lords....I don't know do they share a family name or should we play up the fact that they are descended from Demons?

Also don't hesitate to add to The Narrows or make an additional district dedicated to Dwarves.

[Rob Roy]

New P.O.I., and I think the first one for Deepmire. Ideally we'd have at least one P.O.I. for each district. I'll probably edit this post with more.

Point of Interest:Slalorn's Manor
Location: Deepmire
Description: Some years after Deepmire was formed, an illithid colony moved in. The colonies elder brain, unlike most, had a more than unhealthy interest in sorcery. To be specific, Necromancy. The elder brain, who goes by the name of Slalorn, went through one of the most vile necromantic rituals, and became a lich. And he didn't want any normal phylactery, instead he commissioned a manor, built of pure mithril to serve as his phylactery, and his base of operations. Nowadays he's one of the more prominent wizards in the city and has a network or illithid spies everywhere in the city. He will greatly reward those who bring him magical artifacts.

[Omeganaut]

Silverscale, that is totally fine with me. I noticed that there were no real saints of mages either, so I felt that with such an impact on history, Fluvius could certainly be a saint, even if he may not be official.

New Saint:
Equestor “Leado” Fluvius
He is the patron saint of Merchants, economancers, and of public service. He represents all that is selfless in volunteerism to some, but at the same time all that is in artful cunning to others, and so a select few outright cheap trick bartering. However, he did found Economancy, which is the magic that allows such a giant city to thrive. There is uncertainty to his status as official saint due to the fact that there are many contradicting laws on the subject passed by the Council at different point in time. However, he is certainly no more deviant than Tren.

I also have some ideas for districts.
(I feel as though the monastery isn’t quite fitting with the temple district, so I thought it could be a separate district if a few other ideas and people were merged into it.)
District: Serenity
Other Names: The monastery, Silent hamlet, the Hermitage
Government: Reincarnated Republic
Police Force: The Repentant
Related P.O.I.s: The monastery
Description: Serenity is where monks, paladins, and other quiet types go to meditate and find peace. The entire district has been constructed out of unique pumice that dampens sound, which is sometimes supplemented with magic. In some neighborhoods, speaking is illegal, and sign language is used. People may come here for quiet, for spiritual advice, or to convince one of the monks or paladins to help them with some quest. The Monastery is located in the cave farthest from the city. The tunnel connecting the cave and the city is long and dark, and located at the end of the longest chasm of the Narrows. This district is poor, mostly by choice of its residents. The rulers of the city are supposedly Reincarnated beings that have decided to grace this district with their wisdom, and when one dies a new one is chosen by consent of the Reincarnates. The Repentant is a force of Paladins and Clerics looking to redeem themselves in the eyes of their deity, as well as others who wish to make amends for past or perceived wrongs.

Also, to give a working-neighborhood that has to do with the original purpose of the city:
District: The Mines
Other Names: Dwarvia, The tunnels, the Warrens
Government Type: Unionization
Police Force: Union Strikers/Taskmasters
Related P.O.I.s:
Description: The Mines are a multi-area district composing of all the active mining areas. They are populated almost entirely by working class miners, and are probably the poorest district overall as the miners are paid terribly because there is always another brute looking for work. Most of the miners are either new immigrants of tough races or dwarves. The miners tend to collect into unions, where workers pool their money to allow one representative to focus his time on getting attention to the needs of the district. The representive is elected at a meeting of all union leaders. Taskmasters patrol the streets when they aren’t supervising the mining, and tend to deal harshly with all crime, no matter from what source. Their only opposition is a full strike, using the power of the multitudes of miners to overwhelmed the taskmasters, at least those that are stupid enough to resist.

Let me know what you think

[Rob Roy]

Here's the dwarven district, or what I have of it done, but it seems I've just been ninja'd.


**Clanhold**
District: The Alliance of Clans
Other Names: Clanhold, The Brewery
Government: The Clan Council, with representatives of each clan determined by the average wealth of the clan and whether or not that clan is dwarven, with wealthier clans getting more representatives and non-dwarven ones getting none.
Police Force: Each Clan has there own.
Description:

Clan Goldengem
Clan: Goldengem
Race: Gold Dragonblooded Dwarves(Mechanically Mountain Dwarves with the lesser gold dragon bloodline from UA)
Favored Class: Sorcerer
Police Force : Goldengem Defenders
Description: The richest Clan in the district, they have 10 representatives at the Clan Coucil, which is more than the rest of the clans combined. The claim to be descended from GaL'EstratZesh'ashtnaris himself, though the dragon in question has refused to comment. The Goldengem own all of the Steamworks in the district, and most of the mines.

Clan Skullcrusher
Clan: Skullcrusher
Race: Mountain Dwarf
Favored Class: Fighter
Police Force: Tunnel Watch
Description: The second richest clan, they have 5 seats at the Clan Council. They have a reputation for being tough fighters, and a willingness to do anything for money. Most people in the city, from battle hardened orcs, to the most powerful gladiators would rather kill themselves than face a squad of Sullcrushers
Clan Ironsword
Clan: Ironsword
Race Hill Dwarf
Favored Class: Fighter
Police Force: None, the clan is too poor to have one.
Description: The oldest Clan and the poorest Dwarven Clan, they have 1 seat at council. There poverty is likely a result of their strict adherence to to transition and their refusal to use mills. They tend to be ignored, and most are illiterate.
Clan Mindkiller
Clan: Mindkiller
Race: Duegar
Favored Class: Psychic Warrior
Police Force: Mindbenders
Description: The newest clan, and the only to be entirely in the Underdark. They own all the mines in the district that the Goldengem don't have. They have 3 seats a the Clan council.


Those are all the dwarven clans, I'll add the kobold one and the two gnome ones later. I'll also add a P.O.I. for the Goldengem ran Steamworks and two for the Goldengem and Mindkiller ran Mines.

EDIT


S
District: Serenity
Other Names: The monastery, Silent hamlet, the Hermitage
Government: Reincarnated Republic
Police Force: The Repentant
Related P.O.I.s: The monastery
Description: Serenity is where monks, paladins, and other quiet types go to meditate and find peace. The entire district has been constructed out of unique pumice that dampens sound, which is sometimes supplemented with magic. In some neighborhoods, speaking is illegal, and sign language is used. People may come here for quiet, for spiritual advice, or to convince one of the monks or paladins to help them with some quest. The Monastery is located in the cave farthest from the city. The tunnel connecting the cave and the city is long and dark, and located at the end of the longest chasm of the Narrows. This district is poor, mostly by choice of its residents. The rulers of the city are supposedly Reincarnated beings that have decided to grace this district with their wisdom, and when one dies a new one is chosen by consent of the Reincarnates. The Repentant is a force of Paladins and Clerics looking to redeem themselves in the eyes of their deity, as well as others who wish to make amends for past or perceived wrongs.

This sounds like it would much better as a P.O.I. within the Temple District. Besides that it looks good. Oh, and most people in Ishka don't worship deities, the worship Saints. They're prety much the same thing though, I just wanted the terminology to be right.


Also, to give a working-neighborhood that has to do with the original purpose of the city:
District: The Mines
Other Names: Dwarvia, The tunnels, the Warrens
Government Type: Unionization
Police Force: Union Strikers/Taskmasters
Related P.O.I.s:
Description: The Mines are a multi-area district composing of all the active mining areas. They are populated almost entirely by working class miners, and are probably the poorest district overall as the miners are paid terribly because there is always another brute looking for work. Most of the miners are either new immigrants of tough races or dwarves. The miners tend to collect into unions, where workers pool their money to allow one representative to focus his time on getting attention to the needs of the district. The representive is elected at a meeting of all union leaders. Taskmasters patrol the streets when they aren’t supervising the mining, and tend to deal harshly with all crime, no matter from what source. Their only opposition is a full strike, using the power of the multitudes of miners to overwhelmed the taskmasters, at least those that are stupid enough to resist.


I'll do a P.O.I. for this one, for the mines ran by the dwarven clans in Clanhold. It looks pretty good as well. Oh, and you spelled representative wrong.

[Silverscale]

Any objection to me combining the two ideas for Dwarven Districts together?

[Rob Roy]

Any objection to me combining the two ideas for Dwarven Districts together?

Well the mines seem much closer to the steamworks in flavor than what I was doing with the Clanhold, and the Mines are much more geographically widespread, rather than a centralized district of feuding clans, so I think it would be a tough fit. Oh, and the Clanhold isn't even close to being done.

[ForzaFiori]

Well the mines seem much closer to the steamworks in flavor than what I was doing with the Clanhold, and the Mines are much more geographically widespread, rather than a centralized district of feuding clans, so I think it would be a tough fit. Oh, and the Clanhold isn't even close to being done.

I have to agree with this. The Clanhold is like the upperclass dwarven district, with the mines being more of a slums. It's possible that the Clanhold could be on top of the Mines, possibly owning them, but then Clan Mindkiller couldn't be in the underdark...

[Rob Roy]

@ Silverscale For the Merchant Lords names, I was doing a Mayan Mythology naming scheme with the rest of the district. I've also sent a request to join the Ishka wiki. I thought you might need some help with it.

I thought I'd give stating out the Xibalbians a shot. I'm terrible at homebrew, so if it's bad feel free to tear it apart.

Xibalbian

Type: Humanoid(Evil, Lawful)
+2 Charisma
Unlike most creatures with alignment subtypes, a Xibalbian may be of any alignment.
Devil Blood: For all effects related to race, a Xibalbian is considered to have the devil subtype.
See in Darkness (Su): Some devils can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.
+2 racial bonus to diplomacy and bluff checks.
Automatic Languages: Xibalbian, Ishkan Bonus Languages: Any(other than secret languages such as Druidic)
Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass Xibalbian takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.

[Omeganaut]

I agree with ForzaFiori, the Clanhold could be the rich dwarves, and the mines could be the poor ones. Also, the mines is also where I picture many immigrant slums for poor underground-dwelling people.
Thank you RobRoy for fixing those errors. No-one is perfect, and I'm definitely not him.

Here are some other ideas I came up with. I feel like in an industrialized, low workers' rights city, there would be significant resentment of the rich. Here are a few ideas to flesh that out, and a district for the gnomes (feel free to post your idea Rob, I don't want to steal every place you have an idea).

District: Tinker Terrace
Other Names: Gnomeland, Toytown, mechanized chaos
Government Type: Automatocracy
Police Force: Toy Soldiers
Related P.O.I.s: Tinsel Toyland
Description: This district is composed mostly of inventors and their creations. Gnomes are the prevalent race due to their affinity with crafting, but Dwarves, Halflings, and dexterous/intelligent races are common as well. This district is mistrusted by wizards as well as the Wild for their mechanized creations, but they maintain a good relationship with the Steamworks. The grandest example of the work done in the district is a grand store called Tinsel Toyland, in which all sorts of mechanical wonders are found, along with toys for children of rich parents. The district is ruled by automatons created by residents to represent them and their companies, with better companies being able to create better automata, which are usually chosen for more powerful positions. The self-policing is done by the creations themselves, with each creator imbuing his or her creations with the ability to fight if stolen or activated by a specific code word. Considering a threat to one to be a threat to all, most crafters will add their own armies to an already active one, making escape all but impossible.


Organizations
Beggars Guild
This guild, while not entirely composed of beggars, represents the poorest part of the population that has barely enough to scrape by. The guild offers protection even when the M.I. wouldn’t be bothered or the local police are disinterested. Membership is extremely cheap, and as such it is one of the most populous organizations in the city. This organization hates the rich, and has repeatedly asked for the Mithral Heights to be taken down, dismantled, and used to create low-cost housing. Due to their poverty this guild has links to the Alliance, but it also has affiliation with the Shadow Martyrs and the Peacekeepers. The Beggars are generally loud and ineffective, but occasionally a thief steals a magical object and activates it to cause as much trouble to the upper classes as possible. Lead by Cecelia Mcdunderzakoot.

Endowed Leaders’ Faction
ELF, as they are called by everyone who isn’t an elf, are rich businessmen, “businessmen”, and magic-users. They oppose DWARF with a passion, and their headquarters is high up on the Mithral Heights. They are in favor of free business, and often come in conflict with the Groves because they seek more fuel for their furnaces and more land for their labor.

(possibly replace replace the collective)
Denied Workers Acquiring Respectable Fairness
DWARF, as its more commonly known be everyone except non-union dwarves, is a vocal trade union that represents workers in demeaning jobs, such as “personal” servants, Hedon’s slaves, Trash Corps members, and similar such jobs. They vehemently oppose the property advantages of the wealthy, and demand that they get taxed at extreme rates so that the poor have a chance at the same success. Their main opponent is the ELF. Also among their demands is worker compensation. Needless to say, they are laughed at in most political circles, but they have found many allies in the lower ranks of most public service, and there are growing numbers of them joining in secret.

P.O.I
P.O.I: Tinsel Toyland
Location: Tinker Terrace
Description: This store was started by a wandering gnome tinker when he stumbled upon this growing city, and he lent his name to the store. Since then, his descendants have created more extraordinary creations, and have grown quite wealthy. The shop caters to all creatures, but with a focus on the young and the less intelligent who are more amazed by the gear-spinning wonders. It is currently owned by Keyhidooc Tinsel, who may be the first Tinsel owner to not ever create a new gadget.

Important persons
Keyhidooc Tinsel.
He is the owner of Tinsel Toyland, and heir of a mighty corporate empire. He delegates this authority however, and uses his fortune to be the ultimate party boy. He is the most important person to invite to any party that is supposed to be fun, and he throws a few good parties himself. He is most famous for hosting a party that occupied six different planes. Party-goers are still stumbling back through portals from that single party. He has recently announced a contest for the greatest party ever, and the leading socialites of the city are scrambling to please him and create the most debauchery they can. Many of the poor hate him for his extravagant lifestyle.


Cecelia Mcdunderzakoot.
The leader of the Beggars guild, she is unquestionably insane. She has never introduced herself the same way twice, and thus her name had to be officially instated (they picked the most pronounceable one). However, despite unintelligent when referring to herself, she has remarkable insight, and has persuaded many a nobleman to give much more generously to charity than they had before. She personally despises the Alliance for their actions, and tends to favor the Shadow Martyrs.


@RobRoy, about your xenophobic district, spoilered below

District:Hume
Other Names:Mages Nightmare, Xenophobia
Government Type: Welfare State
Police Force:The Militia
Description: Magic does not work in this district, nor does psionics. As many of Ishka's inhabitants are mages, or have magical abilities, and all but a few of them use it every day of their lives, very few people think of this place as habitable. The few people who don't use magic every day of their lives live here, in a small district at the bottom of the canyon. All of the permanent residents of this district are human, and all believe that humanity settled here first and everyone else should just leave. While it is against the law to kill a non-human here, the district government looks the other way on such cases. In addition to Humans First, The Collective also has massive support in this district and it has been able to put some of it's ideals into practice here.

The district itself is located near a Steamworks, and in exchange for the district doing all it can to back unions in all disputes with the Merchant leaders, the Unions have been able to provide all the homes in the city with electricity from the power plants, and other devices.


I like the idea, but I don't think it should be humans only as permanent residents, but i feel like the only other races who may be comfortable there are either the strong but stupid barbaric types (like orcs maybe) or halflings.
Also, welfare state is really not a good description of a government by itself. A little more info on how it is governed would be nice.

EDIT: spoilered stuff for length

[Rob Roy]

(feel free to post your idea Rob, I don't want to steal every place you have an idea).

'Tis okay, the Gnome clan I was going to post weren't going to be tinkers anyway. I like tinker gnomes, I just think they've been done to the death.

[Omeganaut]

Good point Rob, I just really can't see them be anything else without ending up as small dwarves or halflings. Maybe if they were techno-mages, at least techno as it is in this setting.

[Rob Roy]

Good point Rob, I just really can't see them be anything else without ending up as small dwarves or halflings. Maybe if they were techno-mages, at least techno as it is in this setting.

There's been a lot of neat gnome variations. Eberron had a cool one and here's (http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/213067-unified-theory-gnomes.html) a good one I found on Enworld. This isn't to say I don't like tinkers, they're one of my favorite gnome variations, I just think they're a bit clichéd. But as a whole, the most beloved parts of fantasy are, and that doesn't make them bad.

EDIT
Anyone think a district on the moon is too sci-fi for Ishka?

[Silverscale]

I like Tinsel Toyland, it gives a nice alternative to Faberge Construct Co.

Unfortunately the Wiki requests don't go to me as I'm not the one who initially set up the page. I just do most of the editing.

I'm glad we've finally revitalized interest in Ishka.

[Omeganaut]

If the moon was like Yavin 4's moon, then people could live on it. however, I don't think it would tie in directly to the city. However, it could be like the Elemental outposts and be on the other side of a portal, although I don't really see why people would want to create an outpost to live on a moon.

[Rob Roy]

@RobRoy, about your xenophobic district, spoilered below


I like the idea, but I don't think it should be humans only as permanent residents, but i feel like the only other races who may be comfortable there are either the strong but stupid barbaric types (like orcs maybe) or halflings.
Also, welfare state is really not a good description of a government by itself. A little more info on how it is governed would be nice.

The thing is, no one but humans would be comfortable, almost everyone there is a member of Humans First, and the government doesn't prosecute the murder of non humans. If a non human were to kill a human in that district there'd probably be an ethnic cleansing. As for more detail on how it's governed, I'll just link you to this Wikipedia article. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_socialism) As for why, it really depends. A DM might decide that Ishka exists in the Spelljammer setting and someone might have wanted to take advantage of trade routes, maybe the Academy wanted to set up an observatory there because you can see much more stars in thin to no atmosphere, or maybe some rich guy decided that it would be pretty cool, he built an estate up their took his servants, he died and the servants turned it into their own little district. I was thinking of either doing it with portals or elemental airships, but again, it was just a thought. Heck, maybe they found some rare metal that was plentiful up there and everyone moved up.

EDIT
Does the Xibalbian race look ok?

[Omeganaut]

It looks okay to me if its a 3.5 race. It would need a few bumps for Pathfinder, and I don't really know much about 4e. Of course, I'm certainly not an expert at stat balancing, so I'd suggest getting someone else who knows what they are doing to critique it.

Also I've thought of some new districts and a new organization

District #1 (not meant to infringe on Deepmire at all)
Also, in relation to the below district, the definition of Mere should be changed to specify all the buildings that are above water. I’m not sure where exactly that puts The Dive, but personally I would put it in Undermere and have it focus more on interaction between aquatics and land-dwellers. I feel that there needs to be an true aquatic district for the water breathers of the area.

District: Undermere
Other Names: Atlantis, Depths, The Lake
Government Type: Extreme Aristocracy
Police Force: Handlers (?)
Related P.O.I.s: The Dive
Description: This district is located in the waters of the lake, and is composed of those who have adapted to breathe water. The lake being the only habitable deep water in the city, it natural became home to aquatic elves, some lizardfolk, a few merfolk, the occasional sahuagin, and many intelligent marine animals. However, the fact that most marine species grew up in salt water makes it uncomfortable to survive unless you have to money to separate your personal home from the rest of the lake water. Because of the difficulty involved in surviving in this environment, most members have a very good reason for moving to Ishka, wealth being the most common. Due to this fact, the government is run by those with the most wealth, with the very wealthiest chosen as representative to the council (which is paid for by the local taxes). The handlers are patrols of druids, rangers, and others who can control unintelligent fish. They are paid as much for their services as they are for keeping the fish populations in check, particularly the previously problematic piranha population


District #2 ( think the skylight cafe would fit in better here, but that's just my opinion)
District: Sun Sanctuary
Other Names: The Cracks, the pits, those crazy sun-worshippers
Government Type: Theocratic republic
Police Force: Order of the Sun
Related P.O.I.s: The skylight cafe
Description: The Cracks, as it is most often called, are a series of rifts, cracks, and dips in the ground clustered near the cavern rim. These have been widened and deepened by mechanical and magical means to serve as a home for those who wish to live in the sun, but are not independently wealthy and so cannot afford a surface house, let alone one in the Mithral Heights. The Sun-people tend to be very religious, and choose to elect priests to represent them, which in turn pick the highest officials. With this in mind, there are some very serious missionaries in this district, willing to do anything to convert a follower to allow their chosen Saint or Deity to have another member of the Table of Priests. The Order of the Sun is composed of all sorts of people drawn together in worship of the sun. They despise those who fear the sun, but their own fear of darkness prevents conflicts with deep-dwellers. Many of these citizens survive of off wages paid for agricultural expertise, and this district has more farming than any other district save Galdren.


Organization
The Order of the Sun
This hodge-podge group of denizens favors light, and thus lives mostly in the upper levels of the city. The order worships the Sun, and finds if far outshines the saints that the lower city attempts to hold up to the light of godship. While the Order has no negative position on most races, those that cannot stand the light are fair targets. The Order rarely physically attacks as most of its number is scared of the dark; however they still call for the exile of all beings unable to stand in the sunlight. They also insist that that the Magic lantern by modified to create daylight instead of artificial magical light. One doctrine that is commonly expressed is that the amount of darkness leads to most if not all of the portal mishaps that plague Ishka, especially the gate raiders. More extreme members have in the past created daylight in Everdark, each time creating chaos in the area, and once a member destroyed a gate to the shadow realm which almost triggered a civil war.


spoilered for length

EDIT: @RobRoy I think I understand your antimagic district now. I think to make it more clear your government should have socialist somewhere in the name, just so that people like me aren't confused. Maybe call it Mage-bane, Magiarka, Odd Carobin, Aghaidraochta,Pret Burvto, Uchawidi, or Erbyn Hud (I translated against and magic and altered the best results i could read that did not take the latin magi as the root for magic).

[Rob Roy]

More stuff for the Clanhold.

P.O.I.s
Point of Interest:Goldengem's Sweatshops
Location: Steamworks
Description: A colloquial term for all of the parts of the Steamworks that Clan Goldengem owns. The labor unions aren't as powerful here, and have aligned themselves with radical groups that commit acts of terrorism in order to get workers basic sophant rights. Instead of Merchants Agents, Goldengem Defenders patrol this part of he Steamworks. Capturing or bring the corpses of Union leaders is a good way to earn favor with them.


Point of Interest: The Warrens
Location: Various, see text
Description: A generic term for areas of districts primarily populated by kobolds and goblins outside of Gobin or the Draconic Heritage Collective. The most famous one is in Clanhold, and shares its borders with Clan Ironsword's territory.

Point of Interest:Goldengem Territory
Location: Clanhold
Description: All of the territory of Clan Goldengem within Clanhold. Is patrolled by the Goldengem defenders.

Point of Interest: Skullcrusher Territory
Location: Clanhold
Description All of Clan Skullcrusher's territory within Clanhold. Is patrolled by the Tunnel Watch.

Point of InterestMindkiller's Caverns
Location: Clanhold
Description All of Clan Mindkiller's territory within Clanhold. Is patrolled by the Mindbenders. Shares a border with The Dark City.

Point of InterestIronsword Territory
Other Names: Rust Kobold's land, Bloody-Hand Tribe
Location: Clanhold
Description: All of Clan Ironsword's territory within Clanhold. Technically Rust Kobold and Bloody-Hand territory share it's borders, and no one except the Ironsword representative in council cares, and everyone ignores that person. Violence is common here, and gangs from all three groups claim their group rightfully owns the land. Walking around in this area without being armed to the teeth is akin to swimming around in the elemental plane or water without being able to breath water.


New Clans in Clanhold


Clan Name:Rust Kobolds
Race: Rust Kobolds, both types
Favored Class: Artificer or Sorceror, whichever it have more levels of.
Police Force: Rustyblood gang unofficially, none officially
Description: The biggest population of kobolds outside of the Heritage Collective, they regularly get into fights with the Ironswords and Bloody-Hands. A huge minority number of them work in the Mines and Steamworks. They're famous for they're magical contraptions.


Clan Name: Bloody-Hands
Race: Goblins, some Blues
Police Force: Bloody-Hands
Description: The biggest population of goblins outside of Gobin, they regularly get into fights with the Ironswords and Rust Kobolds. A huge minority number of them work in the Mines and Steamworks.

You can merge the Ironswords, Rust Kobolds and Bloody-Hands into The Mines if you want.

New Races

Rust Kobolds(Living)
-4 Strength, +2 Dexterity
Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
A rust kobold’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Low Light vision
Racial Skills: A kobold character has a +2 racial bonus on Craft (trapmaking), and Profession (miner)
Rust Kobolds can cast Mending a number times each day equal to his or her character level +3.
Automatic Languages: Draconic, Ishkan Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gobbledegook(that is the name of Gobin's language, right?)
Favored Class: Artificer or Sorcerer, whichever it has more levels of.
Level adjustment +0.


I'll post living construct Rust Kobolds later.

EDIT


(I translated against and magic and altered the best results i could read that did not take the latin magi as the root for magic).

Magi's Latin? Huh, always thought it was Persian. I suppose you learn something new every day. Of all those names you suggest I like old Carobin the best. For some reason a plain old English name seems like it'd work best for that district. Though a few of those sound like they would make good Merchant Lord names.

[Omeganaut]

I don't know if it started in persia, but Magus is definitely the latin word for magic. Also, do you want me to re-format the Fluvian canals Silverscale?

[Rob Roy]

@Omeganaut Why is the salt water fresh water differance such a problem? I remember in Stormwrack there was a type of water that allowed water and air breathing creatures to breath equally well in it, so why wouldn't the wealthy residents do something similar to the lake in order to make it comfortable to all of its aquatic residents?

[Omeganaut]

I feel like the only people who would live in undermere would be those who originally lived in the lake, or those who had a plan to make money. The rich would probably not want to share their hard-earned money helping the poor. However, maybe a third party benefactor such as the Hands of Saint Merkiel may step in to help, although the water would never be perfect for everyone. At the same time, if there was enough salt in the water for ocean-dwellers to be comfortable, it would go down the river and affect the groves negatively. Just trying to puzzle out the possible options and consequences. I do appreciate the feedback.

[Rob Roy]

I feel like the only people who would live in undermere would be those who originally lived in the lake, or those who had a plan to make money. The rich would probably not want to share their hard-earned money helping the poor. However, maybe a third party benefactor such as the Hands of Saint Merkiel may step in to help, although the water would never be perfect for everyone. At the same time, if there was enough salt in the water for ocean-dwellers to be comfortable, it would go down the river and affect the groves negatively. Just trying to puzzle out the possible options and consequences. I do appreciate the feedback.

I don't mean mundane water. Water that's been enchanted so it works lik that. Still, I see your point about the rich not wanting to help the poor.

[Silverscale]

Wow I leave you guys alone for 14 hours and you just take of running. I don't think this thread has ever moved so quickly. I'm liking everything I'm seeing so far and I'm going to take some time now to update the Wiki. This is going to take me a while since my laptop is not as new/shiny/fast as I would like but bare with me.

EDIT: Ok I think that's everything so far although for some of the things I couldn't get it to format properly on the Wiki.

As far as a district on the Moon, there are all those Secret Districts perhaps one of them is on a moon somewhere. I agree with who ever said that they would have to have a pretty good reason for wanting to go to Ishka's moon. Do a write-up we'll see what it turns into.

[Rob Roy]

As far as a district on the Moon, there are all those Secret Districts perhaps one of them is on a moon somewhere. I agree with who ever said that they would have to have a pretty good reason for wanting to go to Ishka's moon. Do a write-up we'll see what it turns into.

Okay, here's a write up.

District: Reticuli
Other Names: ????
Government: Duchy
Police Force: ????
Description: A hundred years ago a wealthy nobleman from the Commons had a bet with a few of his peers, who ever could do the most outrageous thing within three months got the money. This noble(needs name) hatched a plan and got a few of his wizard servants to open a portal to the moon(may need name). He sent many of his mindless golems through the portal to lay the foundations for a manor. Once they were done, his wizards created poles that would create thin breathable in the vacuum without it getting sucked into space and stated planting a wide variety of plants to keep the air breathable. Then construction crews were sent through the portal to build the manor. When one of the workers was digging they found large adamantine deposits close to the surface. This caused millions to go through the portal, for a small fee, and start mining. Eventually the mining camps stared growing and eventually covered the whole surface of the moon, and many tunnels under it.


EDIT
@ Silverscale: How do the Xibalbian and Rust Kobold races look?

[Omeganaut]

Here is a write up for the Fluvian canals

District: The Fluvian Canals
Other Names: The Canals, Lovers’ Paradise, the Monarchy
Government Type: Limited Monarchy
Police Force: Economancers
Related P.O.I.s:
Description: In times long past, the first great economancer, a Halfling named Equestor “Leado” Fluvius foresaw the true expansion of the economy, and to stay a step ahead, offered his life-long services in return for him and his descendants becoming tributary kings of a separate area in-between the lake and the best farmland. The city was happy to accept, and it was partly as a result of his services, the city grew from mostly mining and fishing to a commercial metropolis. The monarchy is in charge of all internal affairs officially, but in fact only really controls the economy and leave the rest up to the municipality. A highly trained group of Economancers control the economy, and have the power to destroy the finances of those who sell defective or deadly items in the district. This district is also known for being rather romantic, and many couples enjoy spending time there.


I also want to hear about what you think of everything else, although you have every right to take your time because we have been up to a lot.

[Rob Roy]

Here's a gnome clan for Clanhold. Well their racial stats. I'll put in the fluff and clan later.

Ishkan Gnome
+2 Constitution, -2 Strength.
Small size. +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
An Ishkan Gnomes's base land speed is 20 feet. However, Ishkan Gnomes can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.
Low-light vision.
Stability: Ishkan Gnomes are exceptionally stable on their feet. An Ishkan Gnome has a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
+2 racial bonus on Urban Survival checks.
+2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks
+2 racial bonus to bluff checks.
Automatic Languages: Ishkan. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gobbledegook, Orc.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day— Ishkan Gnomes can speak with any creature with the Ishkan template as Speak with Animals.
Favored Class: Any, an Ishkan Gnome's favored class is the class it has the most levels in.

[Temassasin]

Ishkan gnome hmmm would there be ishkan varieties of other races?

[Silverscale]

Ishkan gnome hmmm would there be ishkan varieties of other races?
I would say that for the most part if you wanted to use one of the standard races but flavored more for Ishka, any pre-existing "Urban" variant would work, like the Urban Druid for example. That's not to say that we can't create Ishkan variations, Goddess knows I'm a big fan of customization. Though I would be hesitant to create and "Ishkan Human" since Humans are supposed to be so adaptable to begin with.

For that matter, we already have an Ishkan Goat, and an Ishkan Salmon. If anyone wants to create variations on other animals that might be found in/around Ishka feel free, I can't think of anything at the moment.

@Omeganaut: I've read though what you guys have been working up since last night and added most of it to the Wiki. The only thing I haven't added was Serenity Because I'm not sure where we stand on that, either as a District or a POI. As soon as some fluff is added about the Ishkan Gnomes I'll add them to the Wiki too.

@Rob ROy: I'm liking what I see so far about the Moon thing although I'm not sure it should cover the whole moon and I want to see more explaination about how the whole thing works. Also I'm not really feeling the Adimantine, perhaps if they had found a rich deposit of Star Metal or something......IDK I'm just throwing ideas out.

[Rob Roy]

Ishkan gnome hmmm would there be ishkan varieties of other races?

I wouldn't think so, since there's no real consensus on what a gnome is. I was originally going to call then city gnomes. But go ahead if you want.




@Omeganaut: I've read though what you guys have been working up since last night and added most of it to the Wiki. The only thing I haven't added was Serenity Because I'm not sure where we stand on that, either as a District or a POI. As soon as some fluff is added about the Ishkan Gnomes I'll add them to the Wiki too.

@Rob ROy: I'm liking what I see so far about the Moon thing although I'm not sure it should cover the whole moon and I want to see more explaination about how the whole thing works. Also I'm not really feeling the Adimantine, perhaps if they had found a rich deposit of Star Metal or something......IDK I'm just throwing ideas out.

@Omeganaut: I can help out with making serenity a P.O.I. if yuo want to go that route.

@ Silverscale. I made it the whole moon for two reasons. 1. I always imagined Ishka as a fluid blob. It expands to cover every space in a container, if it's not blocked. It can be blocked by mountains and rivers temporarily, but someone else already owning the land that doesn't like the city can bock it off more effectively. The nation'll eventually be part of Ishka, but it'll hold it's ground longer. No one else lives on the moon, though I was thinking of making a race of fey called the Greys for it. I just put adamantine in as a placeholder because I didn't want to make a new metal. It seems natural cold iron would work better though, since all the "cold iron" in the real world came from meteors. Anyway, I'm probably going to change the gnomes dex penalty to something else. It doesn't feel right for something to have that and stability.

EDIT
For how the whole thing works, do you mean how to get there, any special properties the moon has, and/or it's relation to Ishka proper?

EDIT(again)
I also think we should have Ishkan vatieties of normal animals, Ishka's an ecosystem in and itself, with animals from all over the multiverse.

[ForzaFiori]

I also think we should have Ishkan vatieties of normal animals, Ishka's an ecosystem in and itself, with animals from all over the multiverse.

We could make an "Ishkan"...

Ok, So I've had a major brain meltdown, and cannot remember the word I'm looking for. It's things like "half Dragon" or "celestial". Make an "Ishkan" one, that can just be tacked onto any animal or whatever.

[Rob Roy]

We could make an "Ishkan"...

Ok, So I've had a major brain meltdown, and cannot remember the word I'm looking for. It's things like "half Dragon" or "celestial". Make an "Ishkan" one, that can just be tacked onto any animal or whatever.

Template right? I'll get right on that. Here it is.

Ishkan Wildlife
Ishkan wildlife is any animal or plant specially adapted to the unique conditions of Ishka.

Creating Ishkan Wildlife
"Ishkan" is a template that can be added to any aberration, animal, elemental, outsider, plant, undead, or vermin with an intelligence score less than three.

An Ishkan uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type changes.

Size and Type
Elementals and outsides with the Ishkan template gain the Native subtype, otherwise type remains unchanged. Size is usually lowered by one category because of the tight quarters in Ishka, however there are exceptions.

Special Abilities
Ishkan creatures may always take 10 on Urban Survival and hide checks if they are within Ishka, even if threatened or distracted.


Feel free to tinker with it if you need to.

**Ishkan Gnomes**

District:
District: The Gnome Shops
Other Names: The Ripoff Station, Bargain Bin
Government Type: Zaxon Corporation
Police Force: Various Mercenary Groups
Description: The district is discontinuous, widespread throughout the city, and consists of all shops ran by the Zaxon Corporation. The shops are famous for being insanely overpriced, but anything and everything can be bought at them.

Organization:
Zaxon Corporation: As wealthy as the Sunset Corportion, The Zaxon Corporation is ran and staffed exclusively by the Zaxon Clan, which includes all of the Ishkan Gnomes in the city. Any Ishkan Gnome that breaks the clan laws is quickly and secretly disposed of, meaning there are very few to no Ishkan Gnomes that aren't part of the clan. Given that Ishkan Gnomes only live in Ishka, it means there is an entire gnomish ethnicity ruled by one group. The Corporation is famous for being able to get anyone to buy anything at double it's market price.

Fluff:
Ishkan Gnomes: Also called city gnomes, they are adapted to life within the city, and tend to excel at being merchants and minstrels, but there are many fighters, thieves, mages, and others within their midst. They tend to friends in high places and large amounts of money, so be wary around them.

[Omeganaut]

Rob, I'm a little unclear on what you did with the template. I thought it would be for all Iskans, and not just NPC's. I would add Humanoid and Monstrous Humanoid to the list

Also, I feel like saying ALL gnomes follow one clan is pushing it. If its just for Clanhold specify that, otherwise I feel like Gnomes would not want to put all their eggs in one basket. Also, I feel like that district could be continuous, and the Zaxon clan could merely own separate shops throughout the city.

Personally, I feel like the temple district would be loud, with church bells ringing and priests calling out to passerby much like street vendors. Inside the temples it would be quiet through the blessings of their patrons, but outside would be madness. Serenity on the other hand would be a place of quiet, probably allied with the Temple District, but they just wouldn't be compatable.

Also, does anyone else get the feeling that Ishka is located in a dry plain, with just enough water through natural and artificial means to grow hardy crops, and these fields reach to mountain ranges that enclose the area all the way to the sea, making foot travel overland to Ishka very difficult.

Also, I'm going to repost some of the districts and organizations that I have not seen on the wiki page because I'm assuming you missed them


Districts
District: Undermere
Other Names: Atlantis, Depths, The Lake
Government Type: Extreme Aristocracy
Police Force: Handlers (?)
Related P.O.I.s: The Dive
Description: This district is located in the waters of the lake, and is composed of those who have adapted to breathe water. The lake being the only habitable deep water in the city, it natural became home to aquatic elves, some lizardfolk, a few merfolk, the occasional sahuagin, and many intelligent marine animals. However, the fact that most marine species grew up in salt water makes it uncomfortable to survive unless you have to money to separate your personal home from the rest of the lake water. Because of the difficulty involved in surviving in this environment, most members have a very good reason for moving to Ishka, wealth being the most common. Due to this fact, the government is run by those with the most wealth, with the very wealthiest chosen as representative to the council (which is paid for by the local taxes). The handlers are patrols of druids, rangers, and others who can control unintelligent fish. They are paid as much for their services as they are for keeping the fish populations in check, particularly the previously problematic piranha population.

District: Sun Sanctuary
Other Names: The Cracks, the pits, those crazy sun-worshippers
Government Type: Theocratic republic
Police Force: Order of the Sun
Related P.O.I.s: The skylight cafe
Description: The Cracks, as it is most often called, are a series of rifts, cracks, and dips in the ground clustered near the cavern rim. These have been widened and deepened by mechanical and magical means to serve as a home for those who wish to live in the sun, but are not independently wealthy and so cannot afford a surface house, let alone one in the Mithral Heights. The Sun-people tend to be very religious, and choose to elect priests to represent them, which in turn pick the highest officials. With this in mind, there are some very serious missionaries in this district, willing to do anything to convert a follower to allow their chosen Saint or Deity to have another member of the Table of Priests. The Order of the Sun is composed of all sorts of people drawn together in worship of the sun. They despise those who fear the sun, but their own fear of darkness prevents conflicts with deep-dwellers. Many of these citizens survive of off wages paid for agricultural expertise, and this district has more farming than any other district save Galdren.

District: The Mines
Other Names: Dwarvia, The tunnels, the Warrens
Government Type: Unionization
Police Force: Union Strikers/Taskmasters
Related P.O.I.s:
Description: The Mines are a multi-area district composing of all the active mining areas. They are populated almost entirely by working class miners, and are probably the poorest district overall as the miners are paid terribly because there is always another brute looking for work. Most of the miners are either new immigrants of tough races or dwarves. The miners tend to collect into unions, where workers pool their money to allow one representative to focus his time on getting attention to the needs of the district. The representive is elected at a meeting of all union leaders. Taskmasters patrol the streets when they aren’t supervising the mining, and tend to deal harshly with all crime, no matter from what source. Their only opposition is a full strike, using the power of the multitudes of miners to overwhelmed the taskmasters, at least those that are stupid enough to resist.

Organizations:
The Order of the Sun
This hodge-podge group of denizens favors light, and thus lives mostly in the upper levels of the city. The order worships the Sun, and finds if far outshines the saints that the lower city attempts to hold up to the light of godship. While the Order has no negative position on most races, those that cannot stand the light are fair targets. The Order rarely physically attacks as most of its number is scared of the dark; however they still call for the exile of all beings unable to stand in the sunlight. They also insist that that the Magic lantern by modified to create daylight instead of artificial magical light. One doctrine that is commonly expressed is that the amount of darkness leads to most if not all of the portal mishaps that plague Ishka, especially the gate raiders. More extreme members have in the past created daylight in Everdark, each time creating chaos in the area, and once a member destroyed a gate to the shadow realm which almost triggered a civil war.

Beggars Guild
This guild, while not entirely composed of beggars, represents the poorest part of the population that has barely enough to scrape by. The guild offers protection even when the M.I. wouldn’t be bothered or the local police are disinterested. Membership is extremely cheap, and as such it is one of the most populous organizations in the city. This organization hates the rich, and has repeatedly asked for the Mithral Heights to be taken down, dismantled, and used to create low-cost housing. Due to their poverty this guild has links to the Alliance, but it also has affiliation with the Shadow Martyrs and the Peacekeepers. The Beggars are generally loud and ineffective, but occasionally a thief steals a magical object and activates it to cause as much trouble to the upper classes as possible. Lead by Cecelia Mcdunderzakoot.

Endowed Leaders’ Faction
ELF, as they are called by everyone who isn’t an elf, are rich businessmen, “businessmen”, and magic-users. They oppose DWARF with a passion, and their headquarters is high up on the Mithral Heights. They are in favor of free business, and often come in conflict with the Groves because they seek more fuel for their furnaces and more land for their labor.

(possibly replace replace the collective)
Denied Workers Acquiring Respectable Fairness
DWARF, as its more commonly known be everyone except non-union dwarves, is a vocal trade union that represents workers in demeaning jobs, such as “personal” servants, Hedon’s slaves, Trash Corps members, and similar such jobs. They vehemently oppose the property advantages of the wealthy, and demand that they get taxed at extreme rates so that the poor have a chance at the same success. Their main opponent is the ELF. Also amoung their demands is worker compensation. Needless to say, they are laughed at in most political circles, but they have found many allies in the lower ranks of most public service, and there are growing numbers of them joining in secret.

[Rob Roy]

Rob, I'm a little unclear on what you did with the template. I thought it would be for all Iskans, and not just NPC's. I would add Humanoid and Monstrous Humanoid to the list

Also, I feel like saying ALL gnomes follow one clan is pushing it. If its just for Clanhold specify that, otherwise I feel like Gnomes would not want to put all their eggs in one basket. Also, I feel like that district could be continuous, and the Zaxon clan could merely own separate shops throughout the city.

Personally, I feel like the temple district would be loud, with church bells ringing and priests calling out to passerby much like street vendors. Inside the temples it would be quiet through the blessings of their patrons, but outside would be madness. Serenity on the other hand would be a place of quiet, probably allied with the Temple District, but they just wouldn't be compatable.

Also, does anyone else get the feeling that Ishka is located in a dry plain, with just enough water through natural and artificial means to grow hardy crops, and these fields reach to mountain ranges that enclose the area all the way to the sea, making foot travel overland to Ishka very difficult.


It's not for all Ishkans, it's for animals that have no connection to the who don't work in the city as a person would, instead living like animals in an iron jungle. How did I give the impression that intelligent things would be on the list? I said animals, didn't I? Basically, intelligence sculpts it's surrounding to it's needs, nature sculpts animals to their surroundings. Animals need an Ishkan template, intelligent things don't.

And Ishkan Gnomes aren't all gnomes in Ishka, they are one subrace of gnomes that are in one clan that's spread throughout the city. Like how not every American is from the U.S, but all of them are form North or South America. I thought I made this clear when I said all the Ishkan Gnomes were from the Zaxon clan. Obviously, saying that all the gnomes that aren't mechanically Ishkan Gnomes are Zaxon would be stupid. Anyway, if every gnome in the city was an Ishkan Gnome, then why would I capitalize the word "gnome" when I type Ishkan Gnome? Gnome normally isn't a proper noun. They're called Ishkan Gnomes because they're at their best when taking advantage of people's gullibility, like every merchant in the city. The district isn't continuous because Ishkan(or Zaxon Gnomes, if you prefer) don't all live in one area. They live in their shops and their shops are everywhere.

And the temple district is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. There's going to be a lot of quite meditative areas in it because it's one of the biggest and oldest districts. Older than the Necropolis for sure, and probably twice the size. In an area bigger than New York, dedicated to peaceful worship, there's going to be a lot of quite outdoor areas.

Oh, and not really. It was built around a huge river, so the area's probably not immensely dry. Travel over Ishka is difficult because there's huge buildings in the way that you have to walk around, and you'll probably be mugged frequently.

EDIT: Oh, and I'll edit in those districts for you. I don't know how to get the links in the table of contents to work though.

[Temassasin]

Size and Type
Elementals and outsides with the Ishkan template gain the Native subtype, otherwise type remains unchanged. Size is usually lowered by one category because of the tight quarters in Ishka, however there are exceptions.
I think you should be more specific like every creature of large size or hire go's down 1 size
Special Abilities
Ishkan creatures may always take 10 on Urban Survival and hide checks if they are within Ishka, even if threatened or distracted.
it seems a little boring maybe put in something like +1 to all skill checks within Ishka if the DM thinks that it make sense. though that is overpowered

Feel free to tinker with it if you need to.
Hi how ya doing ,hail Cthulu!


Also, does anyone else get the feeling that Ishka is located in a dry plain, with just enough water through natural and artificial means to grow hardy crops, and these fields reach to mountain ranges that enclose the area all the way to the sea, making foot travel overland to Ishka very difficult.
i always thought of Ishka as on a savannah

[Silverscale]

Woe there; lots to respond to.....again....

As to the general geography of Ishka. The majority of the city, except for Galdren, is built within/over a HUGE canyon. Think the Grand Canyon's even bigger cousin because it has a MASSIVE river that can sometimes stretch to 5 miles wide running through it. I think it was decided that the canyon runs East to West from the lake to the sea, and yes there are mountain ranges that run along the Norther, Eastern, and Southern boarders of Ishka. Travel in/out of Ishka is mainly via either ocean to The Port District, or airship to and from anywhere an Airship is allowed to land (mostly docking at Skyport in Mithral Heights).

As to Zaxon Gnomes and their District, I think it works better if they are one of the clans in Clanhold and maintain stores through-out Ishka, mostly in the Commons with a major branch in The Market District. They would also probably have a booth/store/whatever at The Bazar of the Bizzare (or however you spell that)

If you look at the Wiki those districts you reposted are there I just forgot to make links to them.

As to the Moon District, I think you're right that Ishka probably does spread to fill-up where ever they can. I'm wary of having it cover the whole moon though since that just seems a little to much for me. How about we settle on that they have managed to make a section of the moon habitable (still waiting on a description of the device/magic/tech that does this) and are in the process of mining out rich deposits of Adimantine, Star-Metal, and Cold Iron.

Here's my version of the Template for Ishkan Wildlife
Ishkan Wildlife
Ishkan wildlife is any animal or plant specially adapted to the unique conditions of Ishka.

Creating Ishkan Wildlife
"Ishkan" is a template that can be added to any aberration, animal, elemental, outsider, plant, undead, or vermin with an intelligence score less than three.

An Ishkan uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type changes.

Size and Type
Elementals and Outsiders with the Ishkan template gain the Native subtype, otherwise type remains unchanged. Size is lowered by one category for any creature size Large or larger, because of the tight quarters in Ishka.

Special Abilities
Ishkan creatures may always take 10 on Urban Survival and hide checks if they are within Ishka, even if threatened or distracted.

Hearty: With the tight conditions and limited resources in Ishka, the Wildlife has adapted to survive on less food and water than there regular counterparts.
How's that?

[Omeganaut]

I understand now Rob, it makes sense to me. The language was a little vague and I thought about the worst case scenario. I have given my opinion on the monastery, but if you all think that its part of the temple district then it should probably be left as it was. And when I was talking about the geography, it was about the geography outside Ishka, not inside the city proper. That geography has been pretty well described ten times over.

Temassassin, that is really close to what I had envisioned, but I was just trying to account for the fact that a river cut a deep canyon. Speaking of which I can't remember how deep the canyon actually is, and I can't find it on the wiki, and I don't want to search the thread again.

Oh, and Silverscale, I apologize, I didn't look closely at the wiki and assumed you were less awesome than you are. Right now however there are two identical entries on Undermere.

[Rob Roy]

Oh, and Silverscale, I apologize, I didn't look closely at the wiki and assumed you were less awesome than you are. Right now however there are two identical entries on Undermere.

My fault. I'll fix that.




As to Zaxon Gnomes and their District, I think it works better if they are one of the clans in Clanhold and maintain stores through-out Ishka, mostly in the Commons with a major branch in The Market District. They would also probably have a booth/store/whatever at The Bazar of the Bizzare (or however you spell that)

Ok. I'll do another write up with that in mind later.


Ishkan Wildlife
Ishkan wildlife is any animal or plant specially adapted to the unique conditions of Ishka.

Creating Ishkan Wildlife
"Ishkan" is a template that can be added to any aberration, animal, elemental, outsider, plant, undead, or vermin with an intelligence score less than three.

An Ishkan uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type changes.

Size and Type
Elementals and Outsiders with the Ishkan template gain the Native subtype, otherwise type remains unchanged. Size is lowered by one category for any creature size Large or larger, because of the tight quarters in Ishka.

Special Abilities
Ishkan creatures may always take 10 on Urban Survival and hide checks if they are within Ishka, even if threatened or distracted.

Hearty: With the tight conditions and limited resources in Ishka, the Wildlife has adapted to survive on less food and water than there regular counterparts.


Looks pretty good from here. I'll Edit it into the wiki for you.

EDIT
Why do we have separate pages for races and stats when we have stats on both?

[Silverscale]

Perhaps Serenity is a specific part of the Temple District and The Monastery is a POI within that area.

As to the geography I think we're saying the same thing or perhaps we just think we are and both of us are totally missing the other's point. You have to remember that "The city proper" including Galdren stretches far beyond the walls of the Canyon. To give you an idea of how I see it, imagine if you will the Atlantic ocean, now take out all the water and what are you left with? A vast plain (the ocean floor), surrounded by long mountain ranges (the continents) which in effect creates a very wide valley between them. Then in the middle you have the Marianas Trench which cuts a wide scar down the middle of that big valley. Ok now that you have that image in mind shrink it down a bit to the point where the Marianas Trench is only about 500 miles long, you should have in you mind an area roughly the size of the state of Navada, boardered on three sides by mountains and the ocean on the other. So yes there are vast plains both within Ishka proper and beyond.

As to the depth of the canyon, and how many layers there are, I think we've decided there are roughly 40 layers and each layer is 3 stories thick. Since a story is roughly 10-12ft that puts the canyons depth somewhere around 1200-1500ft. Don't forget the bottom layer really only runs along the edges of the river since you have to leave room for the water to flow freely and boat traffic to pass along the river.

@Temassasin: Omeganaut is pretty accurate in his vision of Ishka's geography where did you get the idea of a savannah; for that matter what is a savannah anyway? I've never really understood the distinction for a savannah. I await your clearification and may stand corrected if it makes more sense.

[ForzaFiori]

for that matter what is a savannah anyway? I've never really understood the distinction for a savannah. I await your clearification and may stand corrected if it makes more sense.

Savannas are a grassland ecosystem with being either small enough or widely spaced enough that there isn't a canopy system. They also have seasonal rainfall (aka, a "rainy season" where the majority of the rain falls, followed by long times of no rain). They're typically in Africa, and cover 20% of the earths surfaces. They're typically found between a forest and a desert or plains.

[Rob Roy]

For the Moon District, how about we say it covers the half that's always facing the planet Ishka's on. At least most of that half. Anyway, here's how the magic totems that makes it habitable work. they're minor artifacts. The Moon disctrict itself should have the Light Gravity planar trait.

Air Totem
This item appears to be an unremarkable stone pillar at first glance, however closer inspection will reveal magical ruins decorating its entire surface. Once the Totem is activated by a command word chosen by it's creator, the only thing that can deactivate it is it's complete destruction. Upon activation, a 100 ft radius of air, centered on the Totem comes into being. The air is not dispersed should it enter a vacuum.

Strong Conjuration, CL 20th

Rust Kobold(Living Construct)
Small Construct [Living] [Reptilian]
Living Construct Subtype: Features: A Rust Kobold derives its Hit Dice, base attack bonus progression, saving throws, and skill points from the class it selects.

Traits: A Rust Kobold possesses the following traits.

Unlike other constructs, a Rust Kobold has a Constitution score. A Rust Kobold does not gain bonus hit points by size but gains (or loses) bonus hit points through a Constitution bonus (or penalty) as with other living creatures.

Unlike other constructs, a Rust Kobold does not have low-light vision or darkvision.

Unlike other constructs, a Rust Kobold is not immune to mind-influencing effects.

Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, and energy drain.

A living construct cannot heal damage naturally.

Unlike other constructs, Rust Kobolds are subject to critical hits, effects requiring a Fort save, death from massive damage, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.

Unlike other constructs, a Rust Kobold can use the run action.

Rust Kobolds can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a living construct can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a living construct is vulnerable to a harm spell. Unlike most living constructs, Rust Kobolds get the full effect from heal and similar spells.

A living construct responds slightly differently from other living creatures when reduced to 0 hit points. A Rust Kobold with 0 hit points is disabled, just like a living creature. He can only take a single move action or standard action in each round, but strenuous activity does not risk further injury. When his hit points are less than 0 and greater than -10, a Rust Kobold is inert. He is unconscious and helpless, and he cannot perform any actions. However, an inert Rust Kobold does not lose additional hit points unless more damage is dealt to him, as with a living creature that is stable.

Can be raised or resurrected.

Rust Kobolds need to eat and sleep, but do not need to breathe.

+2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom
Small Size: A Rust Kobold gets +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, and lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
Poorly Built: Whenever a creature scores a critical hit on a Rust Kobold, the Rust Kobold must make a constitution check. If it fails the check, then it takes 1d4 lethal damage for every hit die it has, and is stunned for 1 round.
A Rust Kobold’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Low Light vision
Automatic Languages: Draconic, Ishkan Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gobbledegook
Favored Class: Artificer

[Silverscale]

We need to distinguish between the living clan of Kobolds and their living construct counterparts somehow with their names.

As to the Air Totem; I guess there's a grid of them set up across most of the visible surface of the moon. I imagine in my head that they create a field of energy between them that acts as a barrier to keep the fresh air in and the vacuum of space out, like the bubbles of Otoh Gunga or the spirit shields around the city in the Final Fantasy Spirit Within movie.

Ok so that works....any ideas about the Lake District since it has yet to get a write up? We have Mere which is the singular layer directly above/on the water, and Undermere which are all the places under the surface of the water, but no description yet for the layers above Mere.

[Rob Roy]

Oozekind
Named bacause they're the only species of intelligent ooze discovered, oozkind are and all of their ancestors are native to the city. Physically, oozekind resemble green, translucent puddles and have no visible organs. They live everywhere in the city.

Oozekind Religion
Oozekind pay at least token service to all of the cities official saints, and most of its unofficial ones, but which varies from person to person. All oozekind do however venerate one unofficial, only known today as The Great One. Legend has it that it united all the oozkind tribes in the Arcane Sewer and with the their help he was able to destroy one of the barricades in the Sewer, and lead oozekind into the city. The oozekind legend o there origins goes as thus. When some alchemical waste was dropped into the Sewers, it began to mutate and became the first ancestor of all oozekind. These early oozekind were different in one regard only, they, unlike other ooze, could learn. Over time they developed true intelligence and founded the first villages. Of course, these are just legends and have not been proven, and no records mention any breach in the Arcane Sewers.

Oozekind Physiology
The oozekind have no visible organs, except for the green slime that constitutes their bodies, which acts as a digestive track. Food is absorbed directly by their bodies, and fuels their magicical alchum, their non visible organ. Alchums exist to prevent the digestive slime from escaping the body and to give them shape, and is therefor most similar to an exoskeleton. The alchums however, do nothing to prevent things from entering their body. The oozekind also excrete a yellowish slime that they use to slide across the ground, and because of their slime trail it is extremely easy to track one who is not wearing one of the many suits that provide them a basic humanoid shape. This slime is highly corrosive. Some oozekind have the ability to give themselves a shape similar to a human crossed with a slug, and if a poor oozekind needs to do business with the city, this is the form that they will take. They're sense organ is just that, one organ. They're digestive slime acts as one big ear, eye, and nose. However, they can keenly sense vibrations and they use this as their primary sense.

Oozekind and Ishka
The oozekind are looked down upon by many of the city's residents as vermin, especially in the Steamworks, where a group of oozekind could easily and accidentally destroy a network of pipes. However, they are legally considered taxpaying citizens, and have rights equal to every other resident of the city. Trash Corps often recruit oozekind, as they have no problem eating trash and a small group of them can easily dispose of the trash in a neighborhood within an hour. While most oozekind aren't very popular, there is one exceedingly wealthy oozekind who own an apartment in Mithril Heights. It gained it's fortune through Gloshform Suits, a company he founded and named after itself that manufactures and sells suits made of non-corrosive metal for oozekind and fire elementals. Oozekind lack their own district, but there are neighborhoods in almost every district where oozekind are the primary or only inhabitants.

Oozekind and Language
Oozekind lack they're own, native tounge, instead they speak Ishkan for almost all purposes. They replicate the sounds of the language by tapping on whatever surface they're on, so hearing one talk is jarring to most people who aren't used to it. Because oozekind lack the ability to taste, and they can't see color, they have trouble understanding some words like "blue" or phrases like "tastes rotten", and they have developed their own words to describe things like "the vibrations from the floor lead me to believe their is a large monster over around the corner".


Watch this post.

[Silverscale]

Watch this post. [Keeps eyes on your post]

Are they good, bad, neutral? Where did they come from? How did they become intelligent? If they're good, what are they doing to help the city? If they're bad, how are they effecting Ishka? If they broke out of the Arcane Sewers into the city proper, has the breech been fixed yet? If not, what's leaking out? There's a reason the Arcane Sewers are kept separate from the rest of the sewer system.

I think I have posed enough questions for now and will go back to post watching.


Savannas are a grassland ecosystem with being either small enough or widely spaced enough that there isn't a canopy system. They also have seasonal rainfall (aka, a "rainy season" where the majority of the rain falls, followed by long times of no rain). They're typically in Africa, and cover 20% of the earths surfaces. They're typically found between a forest and a desert or plains.It still seems like Savanna is fancy term for Plain, though I will concede that Plains are probably traditionally dryer then Savannas. I would say that originally the area surrounding the canyon was probably more of a plain than a savanna but the canals, and irrigation, and other magical means of keeping the crops watered and productive year round, has probably pushed the climate/ecosystem of the Ishka valley basin closer to a savanna.

[Rob Roy]

Oozekind has been updated. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10856675&postcount=1384)

[Temassasin]

i like the oozekind but whats their reaction to other oozes

[Rob Roy]

i like the oozekind but whats their reaction to other oozes

The same reaction we have to monkeys.

EDIT
Oozekind has been updated. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10856675&postcount=1384)

[Silverscale]

The same reaction we have to monkeys.

EDIT
Oozekind has been updated. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10856675&postcount=1384)I like em. Show me a stat block and I'll put em on the Wiki. Also an updated description of the moon colony would be good. Have we decided what metal(s) is(are) being mined up there?

[Rob Roy]

I like em. Show me a stat block and I'll put em on the Wiki. Also an updated description of the moon colony would be good. Have we decided what metal(s) is(are) being mined up there?

I'm working on two races for Oozekind(one suited, one not. Like the Fire Elementals) and then I'll do a MM Entry for them. As for the moon colony, I'm not sure. If I do a UFO inspired fey monster that's native to the moon, then cold iron is not good, and I've never actually seen starmetal in D&D outside of OOTS. I'll leave that up to everyone else to decide.

EDIt
Is there any other aspect of oozekind life that anyone is curious about? I don't feel the race is done yet.

[Silverscale]

I'm working on two races for Oozekind(one suited, one not. Like the Fire Elementals) and then I'll do a MM Entry for them. As for the moon colony, I'm not sure. If I do a UFO inspired fey monster that's native to the moon, then cold iron is not good, and I've never actually seen starmetal in D&D outside of OOTS. I'll leave that up to everyone else to decide.

EDIt
Is there any other aspect of oozekind life that anyone is curious about? I don't feel the race is done yet.

I know I've seen Star-metal in some book somewhere. At this point I couldn't tell you where. Basically it's a green metal with some special properties.

As for Oozekind; the Races of books have a whole list of little sections they do on new races. A Day in the Life, Description, Overview, Racial Traits, Psycology, Leisure, Arts and Crafts, Tech and Magic, at War, Society and Culture, religion, Pantheon, History and Folklore, Language, Lands, and As Characters. You've touched on most of these and most of the rest will be touched on in a Stat-block.

[Rob Roy]

As for Oozekind; the Races of books have a whole list of little sections they do on new races. A Day in the Life, Description, Overview, Racial Traits, Psycology, Leisure, Arts and Crafts, Tech and Magic, at War, Society and Culture, religion, Pantheon, History and Folklore, Language, Lands, and As Characters. You've touched on most of these and most of the rest will be touched on in a Stat-block.

Ok, so all I need to do is leisure, art and "A day in the Life" for stuff that won't be covered in the statblock. I'll probalbly do a short section on language too.Anyway, here is one of the races. I think it's at least LA+1, but I'm not sure about that.
Oozekind

Small Ooze
-2 Charisma
An oozekinds base land speed is 10.
[B]Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
Blindsight
Vermin (Ex): For all effects related to race, oozekind are considered to have the vermin type in addition to the ooze type.
Corrosive Slime (Ex): The creature secretes a digestive acid that dissolves organic material and metal quickly, but does not affect stone. Any melee hit or constrict attack deals acid damage, and the opponent’s armor and clothing dissolve and become useless immediately unless they succeed on DC 21 Reflex saves. A metal or wooden weapon that strikes a black pudding also dissolves immediately unless it succeeds on a DC 21 Reflex save. The save DCs are Constitution-based.

The oozekinds acidic touch deals 20 points of damage per round to wooden or metal objects.. In addition, the oozekind leaves an acidic trail thatremains harmful for 2 turns and deals deals half of that damage every turn, until the two turns are up. The half damage is cumulative, so on the first turn it would deal 10 damage and on the second it would deal 5.
Born Ishkan (Ex): So long as an oozekind remains in Ishka, it may not gain the extraplanar subtype, even if it enters parts of the city not on the it's native plane. If it leaves Ishka, then it gains the extraplanar subtype, even if it remains on it's home plane.
Constrict (Ex): An oozekind deals automatic slam and acid damage with a successful grapple check. The opponent’s clothing and armor take a -4 penalty on Reflex saves against the acid.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, an oozekind must hit with its slam attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
Limbless (Ex): Unless an oozekind is in it's humanoid form, an oozekind may not grasp or use any weapons or tools.
Humanoid Form (Ex): As a standard action, an oozekind may attempt a concentration check (DC 15). If it succeeds then the oozekind shifts into a semi-humanoid form, with the top half resembling a human with tentacles instead of arms, and the bottom half resembling a slug. While in this form, the oozekind's limbless ability is negated, but the oozekind may not wear rings. In addition, while in this form the oozekind's effective dexterity score is 3, as it has very little control over it's body in this form. At the start of every round, the oozekind must make a concentration check. If it fails then the oozekind drops whatever it was holding with it's tentacles and reverts to it's normal form. If it wishes, it may attempt to enter this form again next turn.

[Omeganaut]

Actually, what you have there is a LA +0 if you make the acid damage around 5-10 at low levels to everything and have it scale with levels. If it would have trouble wielding a weapon, then that attack is all it has, and while its overpowered at low level, its underpowered at higher levels. But those are my thoughts, and I'm no expert and creating races or classes yet.

[Rob Roy]

Actually, what you have there is a LA +0 if you make the acid damage around 5-10 at low levels to everything and have it scale with levels. If it would have trouble wielding a weapon, then that attack is all it has, and while its overpowered at low level, its underpowered at higher levels. But those are my thoughts, and I'm no expert and creating races or classes yet.

Well, for the weapons, I was going to make a series of feats that would allow it better control of it's humanoid form. If it takes all the feats, it should have perfect control at around level 14 or so, or at least that's what I was thinking.

[Omeganaut]

And have a set of feats that improves its natural damage too, so they can choose which way to go. That would work pretty well, IMHO. I like it!

[Rob Roy]

And have a set of feats that improves its natural damage too, so they can choose which way to go. That would work pretty well, IMHO. I like it!

Thanks! I'm not sure about the natural damage feats though, since if you ever ran into a creature that's immune to acid then it'd be screwed. But I'll make 'em anyway.

District: Reticuli
Other Names: Zeta
Government: Duchy
Police Force: Lunar Patrol
Description: A hundred years ago a wealthy nobleman from the Commons had a bet with a few of his peers, who ever could do the most outrageous thing within three months got the money. This noble, named Joshua, hatched a plan and got a few of his wizard servants to open a portal to the moon He sent many of his mindless golems through the portal to lay the foundations for a manor. Once they were done, his wizards created Totems that would create thin breathable in the vacuum without it getting sucked into space and stated planting a wide variety of plants to keep the air breathable. Then construction crews were sent through the portal to build the manor. When one of the workers was digging they found large cold iron deposits close to the surface. This caused millions to go through the portal, for a small fee, and start mining. Eventually the mining camps stared growing and eventually covered half of the moon, and many tunnels beneath it.

Today it is a popular vacation destination, as many love the romance of seeing the whole world above them, and many farms have started taking advantage of the lower gravity to grow larger crops. Of course, the mining industry is still the major economic force on Reticuli.

Point of Interest: Zetatown
Location: Commons
Description: The neighborhood built around the portal to Reticuli, the area is culturally another part of the moon. The neighborhood itself is primarily populated by those rich enough to regularly commute between the two areas.

I've also got the outline for a possible story set in Ishka, though I very much doubt it will be as awesome as Graveyard Shift. Nothing could be that awesome.

[Rob Roy]

A Rastsin Saved pt 1
The orce howled in pain. "Now I told you, we don't know nothin' 'bout the explosion over at Miller's Museum" he spat out blood.

"He's lying. If he won't talk, then hit his friend. He may not care about himself, but I know he'll start talking once his friend is cryin' and spittin' up blood" the Lunar Guardsman said to the other guard. The other guard raised his fist, the brass knuckle easily visible, and hit the dwarf right in the face. The dwarf shrieked in pain.

"Now, now. You gunna tell us about what you did over at the museum, okay? Either of you? The pain'll all be over once you tell us".

The orc, who had been trying to undo the ropes on his hands the whole time, finally succeeded, and made a few quick gestures with his hands and suddenly they both disappeared in thin air.

"That was a close one, Bloody, they almost had us!" the dwarf babbled.

"Well, luckily for us, I still had a teleport spell left. Now, we wouldn't have even been in there if you had listened to me and not trusted that oozekind!" the orc yelled.

"How was I supposed to know it was M.I, huh?

"It's common sense to not trust strangers you met in an alley, and you know it!"

"Blah, blah, blah. Where are we anyway?"

"Oh, gee, did you look up at the sky? We're still in Reticuli you moron! We're lucky we're still in the city at all. I was 'portin blind."

"Great. We're in the one place in the city with watch hounds lookin' for us. Great work Bloody."

"Mardenkiem, one more word out of your mouth and I'll personally rip out your tongue. Anyway, we should get out of here. I'd rather not be killed for resisting arrest."

The pair started walking out of the alley they teleported in to, when the dwarf notices a hole in the wall of one of the buildings. When he goes to investigate, he's sucked in and the orc quickly follows.

Inside the hole was an elegant manor, or at least it would be if the walls weren't moving around at will, the repetitive sound of a heart beating would stop, and if the floor would cease glaring at the two creatures that just entered.

"W-were are we, Bloody?" the dwarf squeaked, quite visible freaking out.

"I don't know, but if I 'ad to guess it'd be the CA HQ" Bloodsplitter replied. "We should get out of here as fast as possible". The orc charged at one of the walls, with the dwarf following close behind, and when they hit the wall, they passed through seamlessly, though they both tripped on the lower part of the wall.

The dwarf quickly stood up, as this wasn't the first time he had fallen flat on his face, and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dark alleyway, and what little he could see of the buildings lead him to believe he was in Deepmire. As he looked around he saw an extravagantly dressed illithid, and all six of it's tentacles had presumable magic rings on them.

"Ah, I've been expecting you two. Master Slalorn would like to speak to both of you. In person. I sincerely hope he isn't in a merciful mood" the Ulitharid beamed into their minds.

[ForzaFiori]

Humanoid form needs a DC. To deal with the possible acid, why not a feat that lets u change the damage type?

[Omeganaut]

Zetatown should definitely be in Mithral heights. Rich people wouldn't want to have to go through the stinky commons to get to the moon. Also, nice story.

And I agree with Forsi, maybe include cold or fire or electricity. I could see those being explained somehow.

[Rob Roy]

Humanoid form needs a DC. To deal with the possible acid, why not a feat that lets you change the damage type?



And I agree with Forsi, maybe include cold or fire or electricity. I could see those being explained somehow.

I'll add in the DC, and I'll do a feat for the damage types.


Zetatown should definitely be in Mithral heights. Rich people wouldn't want to have to go through the stinky commons to get to the moon.
I put Zetatown in the Commons because I had the noble that established Reticuli be from the Commons. Maybe it was rezoned later, or to avoid paying the "small" fee to use the portal, they set up a line of airships or "spelljammers" to get their from Mithril Heights. Just throwing ideas out their.

Also, nice story.
Thanks. I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but at least someone liked it. I'll add other parts to it later.

[Silverscale]

I like the story and the new moon district. I will add them to the wiki along with Oozekind when I get back to my own computer, I don't trust this one not to mess something up.

[Omeganaut]

Here's my take on the district high above the lake. It's not my finest work, but tell me what you think.

District: Love
Other Names: Hippietown, the Beatniks, the Pansies
Government Type: Peaceful indifference
Police Force: Happy Juice
Related P.O.I.s: Court of Caring
Description: Love was founded by one single edict passed down from some unknown sage centuries ago. The edict was “Make love, not war”. When this group of disciples of the Sage stumbled across Ishka, they immediately saw an opportunity to create a new district and name it Love. Here the only law is no violence and no taking anything without the owner’s permission. Surprisingly, these laws hardly ever need to be enforced because of the potent brew created by the district elders, that they call “Happy Juice”. Most of the district is under the influence of Happy Juice at least once a day, and they don’t understand all the chaos and hate that filters up from the rest of the city. If they were to ever need to participate in government, then it would be an open democracy to all who showed up, which has historically been limited to the few residents who had either run out of Happy Juice, or who at the time believed that they were someone else. Needless to say, every other Ishkan believes this district is just plain insane.

Court of Caring
This court was established in Love to settle civil cases in the district. It is now the preferred court for any civil case to be tried in because everyone seems to be happy with the results. Maybe its just due to the Happy Juice, but it still functions well. The only people who avoid this court are the very rich, due to the fact that they often leave with much less money than they entered with. Judge Peaceful Serenity is the current presiding judge, but he rarely has to use his authority, the cases seem to solve themselves.

[Silverscale]

Here's my take on the district high above the lake. It's not my finest work, but tell me what you think.

District: Love
Other Names: Hippietown, the Beatniks, the Pansies
Government Type: Peaceful indifference
Police Force: Happy Juice
Related P.O.I.s: Court of Caring
Description: Love was founded by one single edict passed down from some unknown sage centuries ago. The edict was “Make love, not war”. When this group of disciples of the Sage stumbled across Ishka, they immediately saw an opportunity to create a new district and name it Love. Here the only law is no violence and no taking anything without the owner’s permission. Surprisingly, these laws hardly ever need to be enforced because of the potent brew created by the district elders, that they call “Happy Juice”. Most of the district is under the influence of Happy Juice at least once a day, and they don’t understand all the chaos and hate that filters up from the rest of the city. If they were to ever need to participate in government, then it would be an open democracy to all who showed up, which has historically been limited to the few residents who had either run out of Happy Juice, or who at the time believed that they were someone else. Needless to say, every other Ishkan believes this district is just plain insane.

Court of Caring
This court was established in Love to settle civil cases in the district. It is now the preferred court for any civil case to be tried in because everyone seems to be happy with the results. Maybe its just due to the Happy Juice, but it still functions well. The only people who avoid this court are the very rich, due to the fact that they often leave with much less money than they entered with. Judge Peaceful Serenity is the current presiding judge, but he rarely has to use his authority, the cases seem to solve themselves.Are you proposing this as the district comprised of the layers above the Lake, previously referred to as "The Lake District"? If so then that's not the place for this district. I'm not sure where this district should go geographically....perhaps near a section of The Groves....but anyway The Lake District which is awaiting a write-up has already been described as a place where wealthy citizens go to have a home on the water. Not quite as upper-class as Mithral Heights or perhaps just a different section of upper-class....anyway to turn such prime real estate into a hippy-commune would probably not go over very well with the locals.

As I said it would be a great district to have elsewhere just not over the lake.

[Rob Roy]

A Ratsin Saved pt 2a
"Listen, Olsanor, your responsible for the Reticuli fiasco. I've pulled a few favors with the higher-ups so you can keep your job, but don't screw up again. You should've apprehended the orc and dwarf the minute you had enough evidence against them" the Detective-Sergeant.

"Sir, I didn't have enough evidence against them. They would have been declared innocent in all but the most totalitarian courts in the city" replied Detective Olsanor.

"Ugh, I don't know how you got it this far, being so ravenspooked, but not everything is done by the book. We knew they were planning something big, and you know that whenever a criminal and us butt heads in court, you know that we always win. Anyway, we need these two apprehended, before word gets out to the whole city. We've managed to keep things under wraps for now, but if word gets out about what happened up there, the public'll kill us both. Apparently our 'good friend' Slalorn in the Undercity had the pleasure of meeting them both. His retainer assured me that their reputation in the Alliance was ruined, and that any money in their bank accounts mysteriously disappeared. He saws they're in the Steamworks near Tinker Terrance. Find them, and if you come back without them, I won't be able to save you again. Understand?"

"Yes Sir!" said the oozekind.

[Silverscale]

So far I like the story although a I'd like to see what happened in between section 1&2 to the Orc and the Dwarf.

Having finally taken the time to look up on Wikipedia what the definition of a Savannah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savanna) is, and from there I looked at the definition for Plains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains), Steppes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppe), Grasslands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasslands), and Prairies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie); I've determined that the Ishka valley basin most closely resembles Grasslands. Actually the Ishka valley basin is not unlike The Central Valley in California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Valley_%28California%29), only a bit longer and proportionally wider.

[Rob Roy]

A Ratsin Saved pt 2b


* * * * *

"We are so screwed" said the thin, scrawny orc.

"I still don't know why the Rotting Brain didn't kill us on the spot. He seemed sure that we'd be dead within a day or two" said the dwarf.

"He had better things to do with his spells and powers. Besides, with our bank accounts drained, the M.I lookin' for us, and then he backlisted us in the Alliance. Without all 'o that stuff, he knew we;d be dead and gone within an hour. Still don't know why 'e sent us to the Steamworks"

"Sign says we're near Toytown. That's a mark in our favor. I know a guy in here. 'E was backlisted by the Alliance and fled here, since he was paranoid about Ravenshome" replied the dwarf.

"How coincidental. He's probably workin' with Slalorn or the M.I to get us killed."

"Naw. 'E'ed never turn on an old friend"

"Sure about that?"

"If 'e isn't, then you can kill him yourself. 'Course we don't know where to go after that do we? We can't stay in the city, everyone who's anyone wants us dead."

"We'll escape to the Secret Districts. Your friend knows where a portal to one is, right?"

"'Course"

The dwarf started walking away, with the orc following close behind. Little to their knowledge, a puddle of green goo was following them as well...


When it's edited into the wiki, you can merge the two parts of part two.

[The Anarresti]

Here's my take on the district high above the lake. It's not my finest work, but tell me what you think.

District: Love
Other Names: Hippietown, the Beatniks, the Pansies
Government Type: Peaceful indifference
Police Force: Happy Juice
Related P.O.I.s: Court of Caring
Description: Love was founded by one single edict passed down from some unknown sage centuries ago. The edict was “Make love, not war”. When this group of disciples of the Sage stumbled across Ishka, they immediately saw an opportunity to create a new district and name it Love. Here the only law is no violence and no taking anything without the owner’s permission. Surprisingly, these laws hardly ever need to be enforced because of the potent brew created by the district elders, that they call “Happy Juice”. Most of the district is under the influence of Happy Juice at least once a day, and they don’t understand all the chaos and hate that filters up from the rest of the city. If they were to ever need to participate in government, then it would be an open democracy to all who showed up, which has historically been limited to the few residents who had either run out of Happy Juice, or who at the time believed that they were someone else. Needless to say, every other Ishkan believes this district is just plain insane.

Court of Caring
This court was established in Love to settle civil cases in the district. It is now the preferred court for any civil case to be tried in because everyone seems to be happy with the results. Maybe its just due to the Happy Juice, but it still functions well. The only people who avoid this court are the very rich, due to the fact that they often leave with much less money than they entered with. Judge Peaceful Serenity is the current presiding judge, but he rarely has to use his authority, the cases seem to solve themselves.
Maybe if it was re-flavored just a little bit, it could fit in, but as it stands, it seems to be imposing 20th century RL culture on a magitech setting. A hippie commune district may or may not be a god idea, but please don't call it a "hippie commune district" in the setting.
This might work better as a demiplane attached to Ishka than an actual in-Ishka district, or at least a very small district. Then there is the actual problem of logistics, given that the hippie communes that have actually survived to this day are much better organized and a lot less drugged out than this one, so this one appears to be held together by Rule of Funny.

[ForzaFiori]

There have been communes since at least the time of Jesus (roughly 1-33 AD).

Many religious sects and offshoots who were persecuted (radical jews, christians, and later, pagans) often would live by their selves in some remote area in a commune, because going into town to have a job or trade would have been suicide.

In the late 1800s, a man named Karl Marx had a great idea to take these communes and make them country wide, but I"m not gonna get into politics here, expect to point out the linguistic connection between the words.

The hippies just took an idea that had about died out (especially in America) and revitalized it.

[Silverscale]

When it's edited into the wiki, you can merge the two parts of part two.Ok I'll take care of that later though cuz right now i'm running my laptop from battery power.


Going with what ForzaFiori said, I agree with The Anarresti that "Love" would work better as a small off-shoot district somewhere outside of the Ishka valley basin. I don't know that it needs to be on another world or in a demi-plane; and actually I don't think that would really work because then the only way to get there would be through a Gate/Portal which would cost money, which is not something "hippies" generally have a lot of. Perhaps if it was over the Eastern Mountains so that it could be reached by a relatively cheap Airship ride or by foot over the mountains if one were so inclined.

This also assumes that the mountains are not "completely" impassable but high/rugged enough that over ground travel is arduous and not cost effective for trade.

[Temassasin]

I have a idea :smallbiggrin: why is everybody running away? i swear this (shoud) not hurt anybody


POI

Name: The Ishkan Steps
District:None
Description:The mountans near Ishka are rich in gold but are hard to mine because of the roughness of the mountans outside a few paths which are nearly impassable themselves as well as the ogres and hill giants which live hear dominated by the ogre Cheiftan Krog who is really a greedy oni Named Krogaren

Comments

[Rob Roy]

I have a idea :smallbiggrin: why is everybody running away? i swear this (shoud) not hurt anybody


POI

Name: The Ishkan Steps
District: None
Description: The mountans near Ishka are rich in gold, but but are hard to mine because of the ruggedness of the mountans. Outside of a few paths, which are nearly impassable because of the ogres and hill giants, which live here. They are ruled by the ogre Cheiftan Krog, who is really a greedy oni named Krogaren

Comments

I've fixed all of your grammar mistakes. Anyway, this idea doesn't work because A) the ogres would just be annexed into the city, as there is no way they could stop the city, and B) This is Ishka. The Ruggedness of mountains aren't going to stop the city from mining them out.

NEW DISTRICT
District: Anuzi
Other Names: Gith, Lil Necropolis, The Dead God
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Police Force: Anuzi Enforcers
Description: Twenty years ago, a wizard from the Academy named Anuzi, was doing a research project on the ecology of the Astral Plane. When he attempted to summon a githyanki to question, she, being a powerful wizard, accidentally made an entire githyanki fortress appear above the city. The fortress, which like all githyanki settlements, was made out of dead god, was still technically in the Astral Plane, but the spot where the god appeared was was coterminous with the Astral plane and if you touched the fortress itself, you'd enter said plane. Anuzi was forced by the city to send an expedition to fortress that, as it has appeared in Ishkas airspace, the city now considers it to be part of the city. The githyanki understandably did not agree, and fighting started. Anuzi's undead forces won and the fortress was annexed into the city.

The district is not apart of the Material Plane, and though it can be seen from the Material Plane, those on the Astral Plane cannot see it. The city boasts a sizable undead and illithid population, the latter of which moved in to spite the few githyanki remaining in the district. In addition, the district has many older people form all races live here, in order to avoid death. In the Material Plane, the district orbits around Mithril Heights. Stepping on any part of the visible image of the district on the material Plane takes you to the Astral PLane, where of course, the district is located. The district itself is ruled by Anuzi, however, she takes little interest in ruling the city and allows representatives from the people rule in her place. These representatives are decided by a vote, and if she wishes, Anuzi may overrule any decision by them.

[Silverscale]

I've fixed all of your grammar mistakes. Anyway, this idea doesn't work because A) the ogres would just be annexed into the city, as there is no way they could stop the city, and B) This is Ishka. The Ruggedness of mountains aren't going to stop the city from mining them out.Maybe the loose tribe of ogres and hill giants were originally antagonistic but have long since been annexed by Ishka into their own district on the land they once called their own. I would put this district geographically close to both Gobin and Gulliver's Heights.

NEW DISTRICT
District: Anuzi
Other Names: Gith, Lil Necropolis, The Dead God
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Police Force: Anuzi Enforcers
Description: Twenty years ago, a wizard from the Academy named Anuzi, was doing a research project on the ecology of the Astral Plane. When he attempted to summon a githyanki to question; she, being a powerful wizard, accidentally made an entire githyanki fortress appear above the city. The fortress, which like all githyanki settlements, was made out of dead god, was still technically in the Astral Plane; but the spot where the god appeared was coterminous with the Astral plane. If you touched the fortress itself you'd be shifted to the Astral plane. Anuzi was forced by the city to send an expedition to fortress that, as it has appeared in Ishka's airspace; Ishka now considers to be part of the city. The githyanki understandably did not agree, and fighting started. Anuzi's undead forces won and the fortress was annexed into the city.

The district is not apart of the Material Plane, and though it can be seen from the Material Plane, those on the Astral Plane cannot see it. The district boasts a sizable undead and illithid population, the latter of which moved in to spite the few githyanki remaining in the district. In addition, the district has many older people form all races live here, in order to avoid death. In the Material Plane, the district orbits around Mithril Heights. Stepping on any part of the visible image of the district on the material Plane takes you to the Astral Plane, where of course, the district is located. The district itself is ruled by Anuzi, however, she takes little interest in ruling the city and allows representatives from the people rule in her place. These representatives are decided by a vote, and if she wishes, Anuzi may overrule any decision by them.I think this is a great idea. I corrected some of your grammar mistakes for you. How closely does this orbit to Mithril Heights because if it's too close, it could pose a serious problem to the air traffic around Skyport.

[Rob Roy]

Maybe the loose tribe of ogres and hill giants were originally antagonistic but have long since been annexed by Ishka into their own district on the land they once called their own. I would put this district geographically close to both Gobin and Gulliver's Heights.

Yeah, but even then it would have probably been merged with Gulliver's Heights. Speaking of, I think this distrcit would work best as a P.O.I. within Gulliver's Heights, unless Temassasin wants to give it a radically differant flavor than said district.


I think this is a great idea. I corrected some of your grammar mistakes for you.

Thank you, on both counts.


How closely does this orbit to Mithril Heights because if it's too close, it could pose a serious problem to the air traffic around Skyport.

I figure it would orbit close enough to be a problem for someone who wasn't paying attention while piloting the airships, but if you knew what you were doing you'd be able to avoid it without a problem. I'm not exactly sure how far out that would be, though. Anyway, does Ishka use the Planescape cosmology or 3.5 cosmology? And for space, does it use Grubbian or real world physics? I suppose both can be changed by the DM to what they want, I was just wondering about the "default".

[Rob Roy]

I'm going to edit the next A Ratsin Saved into this post later tonight. Before I do that I'd like to know any criticisms of the story itself that anyone has.

[Silverscale]

Yeah, but even then it would have probably been merged with Gulliver's Heights. Speaking of, I think this distrcit would work best as a P.O.I. within Gulliver's Heights, unless Temassasin wants to give it a radically differant flavor than said district.I'm cool with it being a POI

I figure it would orbit close enough to be a problem for someone who wasn't paying attention while piloting the airships, but if you knew what you were doing you'd be able to avoid it without a problem. I'm not exactly sure how far out that would be, though.So we'll say for the sake of making up numbers that it has a 10 mile radius orbit centered around The Mithral Tower.

Anyway, does Ishka use the Planescape cosmology or 3.5 cosmology? And for space, does it use Grubbian or real world physics? I suppose both can be changed by the DM to what they want, I was just wondering about the "default".You mean as far as how the planes are arranged? Ummmm....I guess for the most part yes. As to any type of physics, though generally assumed to be loosely based on real world physics, I generally leave that up to the DM as far as how they want to handle a science that was so complex it had to have it's own advanced math system created to talk about it. (Yes playgrounders calculus is the language of physics. At least that's always what my math teacher said in HS.)

[Rob Roy]

You mean as far as how the planes are arranged? Ummmm....I guess for the most part yes.
I meant for the planes that exist. I should have probably made it more clear, but do the para- and quasi-elemental planes exist in Ishka?

[Silverscale]

I meant for the planes that exist. I should have probably made it more clear, but do the para- and quasi-elemental planes exist in Ishka?
So far I think we've forged a connection between Ishka and all of the Inner Planes and probably even some of the Outer Planes. I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be para- and quasi-elemental planes as well if you've got something you want to do with one or more of them. Just don't make it toooo crazy. We don't want this turning into Sigil.

[Rob Roy]

So far I think we've forged a connection between Ishka and all of the Inner Planes and probably even some of the Outer Planes. I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be para- and quasi-elemental planes as well if you've got something you want to do with one or more of them. Just don't make it toooo crazy. We don't want this turning into Sigil.

I was thinking of expanding the Elemental Guard and was wondering if there were any Inner Planes other than the energy ones that I could use. I think I'm just going to have a district in the negative and positive energy planes and the void plane.

[Silverscale]

Expand Away.

[Rob Roy]

Sorry 'bout not doing those districts yet. My laptop got a bunch of viruses on it, so I haven't been on a computer for more than a half hour at a time. I'll have them done by at least Sunday. Maybe.

[Silverscale]

I feel you on computers with virus'. Mine was in the shop for 6 days about a week ago. Fortunately some friends of mine basically have a computer lab in their house so I was able to use that a bit.

[Omeganaut]

I just noticed that you asked for criticism on your story Rob. My criticism is based on my personal taste, and so you should feel free to adopt it, consider it, or ignore it. IMHO, having many different viewpoints can get confusing. Be careful to separate different viewpoints by as much as you can. Preferably by chapter if possible. Either that or write in a movie-like pan out that references action far away without giving it too much attention that will draw away from the story. The other thing I'm a big fan of is description. When I write stories, the drafting process always involves adding all the description I can muster, which is then edited for brevity and relevance. I like the dialogue, which is something I always have trouble with, but I feel like it could be balanced with more description of the characters and the surroundings. Overall however, I really like it.

[Rob Roy]

I just noticed that you asked for criticism on your story Rob. My criticism is based on my personal taste, and so you should feel free to adopt it, consider it, or ignore it. IMHO, having many different viewpoints can get confusing. Be careful to separate different viewpoints by as much as you can. Preferably by chapter if possible. Either that or write in a movie-like pan out that references action far away without giving it too much attention that will draw away from the story. The other thing I'm a big fan of is description. When I write stories, the drafting process always involves adding all the description I can muster, which is then edited for brevity and relevance. I like the dialogue, which is something I always have trouble with, but I feel like it could be balanced with more description of the characters and the surroundings. Overall however, I really like it.

Thanks for the criticism. I'm not going to have too many viewpoints, with most of them either being merged or killed off (though I won't go into specifics), so I don't think that'll be a problem. As for the descriptions, I've always tended toward the "only if it's needed" camp, which means only things that'll be relevant get mentioned, except when I mention irrelevant things to throw people off. I'll add more description though.

[Silverscale]

Zaydos is working on expanding the fluff for the Inner Planes and many of them could prove interesting places to link through a Random Gate to Ishka.

Also [shameless self-promotion] take a look at the other community world building project (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197115) I've started[/shameless self-promotion] which could theoretically be linked through a Secret District directly to the Draconic Heritage Collective.

[Rob Roy]

Also [shameless self-promotion] take a look at the other community world building project (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197115) I've started[/shameless self-promotion] which could theoretically be linked through a Secret District directly to the Draconic Heritage Collective.

I'll have a look at it. I just got a new laptop, so I'll be posting some new Ishka stuff soon.


Zaydos is working on expanding the fluff for the Inner Planes and many of them could prove interesting places to link through a Random Gate to Ishka.


I don't think I'm going to be toying with the Inner Plane districts. Mostly because I was originally going to recycle some stuff from a campaign setting I was working on, and I've decided to start working on that again. "Course, I do think there should be more Inner planes stuff with Ishka, I'm just not going to do it.

EDIT

I seem to have forgotten to put up a write up of Ixtab. Here it is.

Ixtab
Patron Saint of Refugees, Perseverance, and Tyrants.
Some centuries ago, a cabal of imps trying to escape the monotony of Hell, hitched a ride on some adventurers poorly cast teleport spell. Ending up in a part of the multiverse they didn't want to be in, they set up small kingdoms, were overthrow, ran for there lives, before setting up a new small kingdom. This continued for a while until Ixtab was born, and as she grew up she gained a more than healthy fascination with magic. However, unlike most wizards, she cared not for the theories, all she cared for were the results. By her two hundredth birthday, she was one of the most powerful Xibalbian politicians, and she used her power to become the only Xibalbian politician. In other words, she became an absolute monarch, queen of the most vile group of refugees in existence. With the unquestioning support of her people, she was able to migrate them all to the Prime, through a spell of her own making. And it worked, unfortunately the spell sent them to a spot on the Prime where reality was weak, where inter-planar gates where, and are, common. Thousands of devil spawned monsters appeared in Ishaka, and this was before Customs and Immigration was established. Indeed, there are some that say it was established because of the appearance of the Xibalbians. The city and the Xibalbians were immediately hostile, indeed it is only because of Ixtab that the fighting stopped and the District of Xibalba was formed, and its people named after it. Ixtab ruled the district for one hundred years, until she, in darkest hour of the districts artificial night, hung herself. This was around two hundred years ago. Many still debate why she did it, but the official explanation is because she could see that the future of the district lay not with one ruler, but with seven. Her seven sons took over the district the next day and have ruled with an iron fist as the Merchant-Kings ever since. One-hundred and fifty years ago the city was forced to canonize Ixtab, as the Patron Saint of Refugees, Perseverance and Tyrants.

[Owrtho]

Well now, so this is where Ishka went. Darn World-Building subforum coming out of nowhere.

Anyway, some thoughts on some of the various stuff that's occured since last I posted.
On the moon district, an alternative to the totems would be perminant walls of force surrounding the area & sealing in the air (along with enough plants to properly convert the carbon dioxide back). That however isn't overly important as the totems can work just as well. Still I might suggest not having it located exactly on the half of the moon facing Ishka, but rather slightly offset, thus allowing people on Ishka to see part of the district and part of the moon proper at night.

As for the oozekind, I personally think the corrosive touch should be heavily toned down, as currently they would likely be unable to touch anything not treated to be resistant to them without it visibly and rapidly melting. This would include not having them almost auto-break armour and weapons. It seems whatever membrane they have would likely help to keep most of their corrosive fluids inside, while leaving the outside fairly safe (though if you sick something inside you may be in trouble).

As for A Ratsin Saved, the dialogue and story in general seem fairly good. The main problems I see are seem to be mostly confined to the more descriptive areas. For example in the first part the paragraph,
"The pair started walking out of the alley they teleported in to, when the dwarf notices a hole in the wall of one of the buildings. When he goes to investigate, he's sucked in and the orc quickly follows."
seemed to be somewhat poorly written in regards to the everything before, and seemed somewhat jarring as a result pulling me out of the story. It seemed more like someone summarizing the scene for me rather than actually having it described in the story.
Something more like,
"As the two moved to leave the alley they had teleported into, the dwarf's attention was drawn to what seemed to be a hole in the wall. As it caught his attention he moved closer to investigate, only to find himself getting sucked in. The orc, quick to notice his companions actions, had approached as well, only to meet the same fate moments later."
seems like it may have been better. Then again that may just be me.

As a side note, the talk of the moon district gave me an idea for a similar area.

District: Stadindelucht
Other Names: The Flying Town
Government: Single ruler with elected council
Police Force: The Crew
Description: A minor noble from the commons, Jason's life changed when he, along with a few other minor nobles including Joshua, founder of Reticuli, made a wager over who could do the most outrageous thing in three months. Having always been fond of airships and the view they offered, he hatched a plan he felt was sure to win him the wager, and thus poured all his money into it. The result was a giant airship, large enough to fit a small town. Shecially designed to have large decks exposed to the sky with lavish gardens, parks, and high class homes, the interior levels contained a small few floor market, and well furnished but more affordable dwellings. While the eventual outcome of the wage left Jason with all his money spent and vastly outclassed by Joshua's manor on the moon, he did now find himself the owner of something of a novelty with a large number of homes and rooms to rent out. So it was he became the ruler of his own minor district circling the sky of Ishka. While his descendants have full rule over the ship, and as such can overrule any choices or even evict any residents on a whim, they have tended to be content allowing an elected council make most of the choices while they take in the taxes and handle financial backing. The current head of the district is Jason's granddaughter Carina, who has proven to be skilled in her management of money, and due to growing up on an airship, knowledgeable of their workings, allowing her to start up a small but growing airship company with its main factory based in Mithral Heights, though the headquarters are on Stadindelucht. While Carina and the council make most of the more noticeable choices in the district, also of some rank are the pilots faction, which is made up of the approximately twenty pilots employed to control the airship that makes up the district. While they rarely make use of their power, their voice is often heeded in regards controlling where the ship will be at a given time, particularly as it relates to weather and the Derelict, which has been given wide birth by the district since the first time they approached one another and the Derelict attacked.
The policing of Stadindelucht is left up to the Crew, who also fulfils the role of taking care of the ship, controlling it, and maintaining it. Due to the nature of the district, there isn't much crime compared to most of Ishka, though if this is due to fear of criminals that attempts to evade justice there could result in bringing down the ship or to the Crew's habit of throwing criminals they think are a threat to the ship overboard is uncertain. Either way most policing ends up being more of making sure children and fools don't end up places they shouldn't be or messing with things they shouldn't touch. All of the crew and pilots are housed on the lower levels of the district where they are provided free rooms and access to higher class amenities in to help make up for their lower pay.

Person of Interest: Carina Vandelutch
Position: Current owner of Stadindelucht and Vandelutch Airships
Description: Born and raised on Stadindelucht, her parents died when she was in her late teens leaving her owner of the district. Fortunately she proved more than able and rose to the occasion, increasing the districts wealth far beyond what it had been in her parent's and grandfather's time. As a child she had enjoyed exploring the ship and due to her position had been allowed places most weren't allowing her to learn much of its workings form an early age. As such she was able to use that knowledge along with her newly increased wealth to start a small airship manufacturing company, purchasing an old factory in Mithral Heights, while having headquarters stationed in her home district. All of the blueprints for ships they make must go through her, and many are in fact initially drafted by herself, though they are also examined and adjusted by other designers she employs. While still small, the company quickly gained a reputation for excellent products and high quality, much to the dismay of her competition, who take solace in the small scale of company and her difficulty expanding it while also trying to actively manage her district's finances.
Still she is considered important among nobility of Ishka both for her rank and accomplishments.

District needs a name and the founder needs a surname (which likely would be used in the district name and airship company name). Otherwise it seems fairly complete, though I may have missed some things.

Owrtho

[Rob Roy]

Well now, so this is where Ishka went. Darn World-Building subforum coming out of nowhere.

Anyway, some thoughts on some of the various stuff that's occured since last I posted.
On the moon district, an alternative to the totems would be perminant walls of force surrounding the area & sealing in the air (along with enough plants to properly convert the carbon dioxide back). That however isn't overly important as the totems can work just as well. Still I might suggest not having it located exactly on the half of the moon facing Ishka, but rather slightly offset, thus allowing people on Ishka to see part of the district and part of the moon proper at night.

The district being the only visible part of the moon is so that say, a non-Ishkan looking up at the night sky would have just one more reminder of how much power Ishka has over the world. Not really necessary, but I thought it was a neat idea at the time.


As for the oozekind, I personally think the corrosive touch should be heavily toned down, as currently they would likely be unable to touch anything not treated to be resistant to them without it visibly and rapidly melting. This would include not having them almost auto-break armour and weapons. It seems whatever membrane they have would likely help to keep most of their corrosive fluids inside, while leaving the outside fairly safe (though if you sick something inside you may be in trouble).

I think the slime trail was acidic too, but I might be wrong. In any case, when I next do an oozekind write-up, I'll change that. That being said, I procrastinate on projects like that when I loose interest in them, so in all likelihood expect a race of mobile, carnivorous, albino trees that would pick the city over nature any day, first.



As for A Ratsin Saved, the dialogue and story in general seem fairly good. The main problems I see are seem to be mostly confined to the more descriptive areas. For example in the first part the paragraph,
"The pair started walking out of the alley they teleported in to, when the dwarf notices a hole in the wall of one of the buildings. When he goes to investigate, he's sucked in and the orc quickly follows."
seemed to be somewhat poorly written in regards to the everything before, and seemed somewhat jarring as a result pulling me out of the story. It seemed more like someone summarizing the scene for me rather than actually having it described in the story.
Something more like,
"As the two moved to leave the alley they had teleported into, the dwarf's attention was drawn to what seemed to be a hole in the wall. As it caught his attention he moved closer to investigate, only to find himself getting sucked in. The orc, quick to notice his companions actions, had approached as well, only to meet the same fate moments later."
seems like it may have been better. Then again that may just be me.

Thanks for the tip. I've never been particularity good with descriptions, except for the really dry sort, or as you can see, summarizations.

[Owrtho]

The district being the only visible part of the moon is so that say, a non-Ishkan looking up at the night sky would have just one more reminder of how much power Ishka has over the world. Not really necessary, but I thought it was a neat idea at the time.

Well, the issue there as I see it is that, the impact is lessened if you lack the ability to contrast it with an uncovered portion of the moon. Thus looking up and seeing 2/3s of the visible moon covered in city would be more distinct than seeing all of it covered in city, where it would just all blend together and more easily be overlooked (particularly for generations born after it happened).


I think the slime trail was acidic too, but I might be wrong. In any case, when I next do an oozekind write-up, I'll change that. That being said, I procrastinate on projects like that when I loose interest in them, so in all likelihood expect a race of mobile, carnivorous, albino trees that would pick the city over nature any day, first.

So what you're saying is that you're currently working on a particularly interesting race of tree people that is precluding your work on the oozekind? Because that's what I see there and I'd be rather disappointed if the above mentioned race doesn't now appear in the coming days.


Thanks for the tip. I've never been particularity good with descriptions, except for the really dry sort, or as you can see, summarizations.

I can understand that. I personally have trouble with a number of aspects of fictitious writing like that, as my tendency is to try cutting everything down to be as short and concise as possible. As such I've had to practice working on drawing things out into more descriptive narratives, that often require me going over it a few times and building it up more each time.

Unrelated to the above, but something I forgot in my last post. I saw someone mention that outside nations should either actively trade with Ishka or else be opposed to it, though I feel it should be noted there are likely some neutral ones. After all, while there are those who would try moving to Ishka to get rich, there are likely to be many more who are content with their smaller town/city lifestyle that likely also has a lower danger level & cost of living. After all, the district in Ishka with the lowest levels of crime is still rather dangerous of a place to live if you aren't careful (though Ravenshome may not be the best place to use when looking for safe places in Ishka), and outside it you're much more likely to run into crime, strange magical anomalies, or other hazards than in some rural small town or reasonable sized normal city (at least those not known for such things).
Not to mention many people outside of Ishka like natural light, and are probably accustomed to seeing the sky on a daily basis.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

They'd be like a cross between albino redwoods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albino_redwood), venus flytraps(if they could eat a rat instead of well, flys), and the opposite of a druid.Ok, you have my interest.

Speaking of Albinos, which I've always thought were very interesting, did you know there is an entire species of cats who are all Albinos; though technically a variation on the gene, Siames Cats are all Albinos. Their Albinoism-gene is heat sensative and instead of creating no melanin at all, it only produces melanin at lower then normal body temperature, which is why Siames Cats are mostly white except at the ends of their feet, tail and ears and the front of their face. Actually if you were to look up pictures of Siames Cats born in warmer climates like the Italy, and compare them to pictures of Siames cats born in colder climates such as Greenland; you would see that while the one from Italy was mostly white, the one from Greenland is mostly light-dark brown.[/end massive but informative tangent]

As to the surname for the Airship family, how about the following options, Senhordoar, Dell'aria, or Vandelucht.

[Owrtho]

Vandelucht seems like it could work rather well. Used Stadindelutch as the district name though. I take it you intentionally put the name together to mean "of the sky" in Dutch?

As for the tree people, the anti druid part actually makes some sense, given that albino redwoods are actually parasitic, and don't help the environment at all, instead leeching off it. They also would likely be better suited for city life where they can purchase what they need allowing a more symbiotic than parasitic relationship. Mind their ability to eat would mean that they aren't actually parasites like real albino redwoods, but still.

Edit: Was just thinking about it, but it might be worthwhile to come up with an alternate list of common familiars in Ishka, and likely animal companions as well. While some of the animals would fit, others likely wouldn't make sense for the city and could likely be replaced with more fitting similarly low cr creatures. Also ones like the raven may carry connotations that many would not choose them.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Vandelucht seems like it could work rather well. Used Stadindelutch as the district name though. I take it you intentionally put the name together to mean "of the sky" in Dutch?Yup, yahoo.bablefish for the win. (incidentaly it's also a conveniet way to come up with last names for Shadowrun characters)

As to alternate Familiar/animal companion lists, I will have to wait until I get home later and can take a look at my books to be able to figure something out for that.

On a completely unrelated note, someone posted a feat/trait/flaw whatever, I think it's called Multinational or something.....anyway the idea is that the character grew up in a place where there are several languages spoken on a regular basis so they know several different languages but none fluently. They have a d% chance to be able to communicate clearly in any given language (that they know), otherwise they wind up speaking in a miss-mash of different languages and are difficult to understand as a result. I'll have to find it to post a link because I'm not doing it justice right now.

[Owrtho]

Well, there seems to be a handful of spelling and grammar errors, though I don't recall precisely where after having finished reading it. Given that the race is intended to not care for nature and generally have abandoned it, I'd suggest allowing them to leach off anything while sleeping, but if they do so with a creature it will become exhausted (if awake), need an additional hours rest (if asleep), or something similar. This would also open up the option of them purchasing or trading for the right to syphon energy off someone for the night, and occasionally them forcing subjects to do it unwillingly (though that would likely be illegal in many areas and frowned upon if one lacks a good reason).

It also seems it would be good to bring up what kind of family/social relations they have, as I expect being mainly plants, that they lack the standard set up that most races have.

Owrtho

[Owrtho]

I figure they'd reproduce asexually through spores, and they'd treat the whole grove that they were from as their "family". Raised by the village and all that. Now that I think about it, they could start off as parasites leaching energy off of other plants before reaching their mature form and being able to leach off of everything. Of course that just brings them back to being dependent on nature, but it's just speculation.

Well, that could be solved by allowing the spores or young stages to leach off anything as well. Mind it may be the case that when they first get on something they're fairly easy to brush off or wash off, thus preventing any and every person going into a grove from becoming infected, but things like plants, rodents, etc. that may not take the time to do so, or would be too weak once the leaching kicked in, would have them start growing off of them. On the other hand they could also raise animals & plants for that purpose, as well as pay people to let one grow on them, among other things.

Owrtho