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View Full Version : Converting a place to a prison. but which place?



Kol Korran
2012-08-19, 08:26 AM
Hi, i need some help with a seemingly straightforward matter.

In the game i'm running, The charater might be captured (If they will let themselves to), by An opposing force that took over some small islands. If this happens, I want them to be "jailed", in a make shift prison, which should be made from some existing building/ local/ space of use by the locals. I'll manage the securtiy part, but I desire the imprisonment to be "within the community" (I hope i'm making myself clear), with a bit of added atmosphere.

However, I am at a loss at what could be used in such a community. It is a small pirate cove, dealing mostly with fishing, perhaps a bit of farming, and mainly small time trade. If it's needed, there might be ancient elven war era ruins nearby. Mostly settled by water and air breathing halflings, elves, and Raptorans. The captors are humans and dwarves.

Would love to put it in a brewery for example, active or not. Oh the place/s should be able to keep about 15-20 people.

Thoughts so far:
- Some big building (The pub? a barn? A dock warehouse?) How do you make these interesting?
- Would love some big hole in the ground with the entrance from the top blockaded. I really like this idea, but I don't know of such buildings. Any chance this could be part of a brewery?
- Something to do with the water- perhaps giant fish/ lobster/ other animal cages? Not sure you make fish cages as big as humanoids though.
- Since raptorans and elves live there as well, perhaps something up a tree?

Any ideas from those more familiar with that sort of technological era? Or anyone for that matter?

(search word: piratewitch)

Yora
2012-08-19, 08:31 AM
Well, if you just need to keep a group of people for two or three days, any storeroom or basement would do. Just have some guards on the outside to prevent anyone from making a hole to let the prisoners escape, and since it's quite a large group, also keep three or four guards inside with them all the time, while the prisioners are tied up.

I don't really see what the problem is?

eulmanis12
2012-08-19, 08:38 AM
you could put it in a "spring house" (I think that is what its called but I might have the name wrong). Its basicly a giant hole in the ground with a roof over it, used for storing food and sometimes as a source of water. Basicly a 17th century refridgerator.

If your looking for examples they shouldn't be too hard to find, the only one I can think of off the top of my head (this is because there are a lot of them and they aren't particularly memorable, not because they are rare) is at washingtons quarters on the brandywine battlefield (right near my house)

I can see a group of 15-20 people being held prisoner in one, The ones that I have seen are about 15ft by 15ft and upwards of 15ft deep.

Iceforge
2012-08-19, 08:43 AM
The storeroom below the deck of a ship?

Seems like the likely place pirates would be used to storing their prisoners, as they might take valuable people captive during raids anyway, and it would be a hole "in the ground" with bars above them, most likely.

Autolykos
2012-08-19, 09:14 AM
Or just take an open piece of land, add two concentric rings of (barbed) wire fence, and presto, makeshift prison. It's basically what the Americans did in WWII when they weren't prepared for the masses of German prisoners (going into details might violate board rules, though).

Kol Korran
2012-08-19, 09:54 AM
I don't really see what the problem is?

I know i can make something simple and efficient. that wasn't the issue. perhaps i should have clarified myself better. I wanted something a bit more memorable, a bit more interesting, mainly-something with more flavor A more interesting kind of imprisonment, perhaps even a more interactive one. I will deal with the actual security aspects (including any faults the PCs might use) later.


a "spring house"

I can see a group of 15-20 people being held prisoner in one, The ones that I have seen are about 15ft by 15ft and upwards of 15ft deep.
Interesting... I'll look into this, thanks!

The storeroom below the deck of a ship?

<Face palms> the simplest solutions. and the opposing force has a galley withs such facilities... Only problematic thing will be the way too many soldiers on board. but I'll try to figure something out.


Or just take an open piece of land, add two concentric rings of (barbed) wire fence, and presto, makeshift prison.
I though of that, and it has some appeals (though probably not using actual barb wire. But i'd still prefer a building. Barbed wires might go a bit problematic with my group, for... certain reasons. Thanks anyway.

Raum
2012-08-19, 10:03 AM
Would love to put it in a brewery for example, active or not. Oh the place/s should be able to keep about 15-20 people.Just about any storage room should work and, depending on what's stored, might or might not be emptied first.


Thoughts so far:
- Some big building (The pub? a barn? A dock warehouse?) How do you make these interesting?
- Would love some big hole in the ground with the entrance from the top blockaded. I really like this idea, but I don't know of such buildings. Any chance this could be part of a brewery? They've got to store casks of brew (http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2679/5805449690_83de6ef188.jpg)...better yet those storage areas should be reasonably secure to prevent pilferage by drunken pirates. I'm sure the pirate captain wants to issue drink at his command...not whenever drunken sailors want it.

If they're not worried about sabotage, the mash and fermentation rooms may work as well.

Other options might include a well house, rope & sail storage areas, or even just a set of stocks.

Iceforge
2012-08-19, 10:11 AM
<Face palms> the simplest solutions. and the opposing force has a galley withs such facilities... Only problematic thing will be the way too many soldiers on board. but I'll try to figure something out.


Well, the players are in a pirate cove, if I understand correctly, and enemies will come by ship and take over.

Seems they will have a bunch of captured ships as well, which they can then convert to make-shift prisons

inexorabletruth
2012-08-19, 10:27 AM
Fishermen community? My grandpa was a commercial fisherman and most of my family lives within walking distance of the bay.

Basements don't happen near the coastline. Mainly because of the constant flooding. In fact, any kind of pit would be better suited for a sadistic torture/execution tactic during high tide than a prison. Silos are reasonable and could contain a large group if the silo is empty. Fishing nets hung from trees would work. Limit three people per net and hang em up on the highest tree to think about what they did while the hot sun bakes their skin all day. Brutal, but effective.

Ships will often have a brig where you can store prisoners, and a dire crab cage might be an amusing and effective "D&D" method of storing prisoners.

However, most towns, even small villages (even pre-tribal villages) have some form of jailing system. Stocks, a jail cell, a cage... something. It's not unreasonable for them to have something like that. However, if this community knows nothing of crime, slavery, or anything else that would require the containment of a human, there's always the stables. It would be a weak prison, but it's suitable for the containment of a large group, has few windows, and already possesses accommodations for food, water, and bedding. And it locks from the outside.

Berenger
2012-08-19, 11:51 AM
From a german point of view... just lock them up in a brewery kettle.

http://www.abload.de/img/kettlemougx.jpg

Driderman
2012-08-19, 12:18 PM
On a huge floating raft anchored to the ocean floor, two days out to sea.

Alternately, the remains of an old mine that learned about coastal flooding the hard way. Lots of submerged tunnels, pitfalls and dead ends and maybe, just maybe, they dug too greedily and too deep, or something else tunnelled into the mine shafts on its own volition.

Kol Korran
2012-08-20, 04:33 AM
Thanks people, I think i have enough ideas to work with.