BESW's Spoil-Lair

BESW

06:39

So long as you only prey on people with fewer connections and less money than you have, and you don't kill anyone, the law won't pay much attention.

Inbar Rose

Interesting.

BESW

This is one reason powerful people attract less-powerful people like moths to a flame.

Every major personality in the city has swarms of unhired attendants and hangers-on, who take every opportunity to gain money and power from proximity to money and power.

It's actually a status symbol, the number of people who your power attracts. A major noble would rather walk through the city naked than alone.

> “...Among the features of public life in Persia that most quickly strike the stranger’s eye, and that indirectly arise from the same conditions, is the enormous number of attendants and retainers that swarm round a minister, or official of any description. In the case of a functionary of rank or position, these vary in number from 50 to 500. Benjamin says that the Prime Minister in his time kept 3,000.

> Now, the theory of social and ceremonial etiquette that prevails in Persia, and indeed throughout the East, is to some extent responsible for this phenomenon, personal importance being, to a large extent, estimated by the public show which it can make, and by the staff of servants whom on occasions it can parade.

> But it is the institution of ‘Madakhil’ (that balance of personal advantage, usually expressed in money form, which can be squeezed out of any and every transaction) and of illicit pickings and stealings that is the root of the evil. If the governor or minister were bound to pay salaries to the whole of this servile crew their ranks would speedily dwindle.

> The bulk of them are unpaid; they attach themselves to their master because of the opportunities for extortion with which that connection presents them, and they thrive and fatten on plunder. It may readily be conceived how great a drain is this swarm of blood-suckers upon the resources of the country. They are true types of unproductive labourers, absorbing but never creating wealth; and their existence is little short of a national calamity....

> It is a cardinal point of Persian etiquette when you go out visiting to take as many of your own establishment with you as possible, whether riding or walking on foot; the number of such retinue being accepted as an indication of the rank of the master.”

Inbar Rose

Interesting

But I think you will want to scale that down.

BESW

A bit, yes.

But that's where I'm coming from.

I'd welcome any ideas.

Inbar Rose

06:59

Let's discuss families for a second.

The Storm Houses

They control the city right?

And it's very autocratic?

BESW

Hmm. Let me tell you how I had it set up in the D&D version. I'm not sure it works anymore, but I don't have anything solid in its place either.

Inbar Rose

Hold up

I mean - how do the families control the city?

They have certain individuals vying for the positions of power all from a select group of families

these families are probably great houses with many branches and lots of kin

The cousins and younger brothers etc.. over many generations - that's a lot of family that are not in the highest positions of that family - or that the family lets take municipal pwoers.

So all these leftover family members would make great retainers.

BESW

In my original version there was a small council that ruled the island. Any House could buy the right to vote for the council members--which also bought the right to be voted for.

The House leaders cast their votes, and if elected either the leader or his appointed proxy sat on the council.

Votes, of course, were influenced by "gifts."

Hmm. Let's see. Relatives who can be appropriately "appreciative" get handed cushy jobs in the government. Relatives who can't cough up the right gifts have to satisfy them with being hangers-on to those who can.

The Storm Houses aren't the only Houses in Knave Port, but they're some of the most affluent.

Inbar Rose

07:23

So I assume that walking the streets with weapons is standard fare.

BESW

I'm thinking not--at least, not weapons that are easily lethal.

Killing someone is Serious Business; you can't bribe or gift your way out, and the homicide detectives are literal wizards.

So while it's probably legal to carry weapons, most people don't.

Inbar Rose

I recall that you were debating the monster issue.

If there are monsters it means teh wilds are dangerous

it means exploration is not safe

it means there are more mysteries out there

BESW

Yeah. Outside the city, weapons are the norm.

Adventurous/greedy folks go out of the city looking for treasure and relics from Serpentis to sell.

Inbar Rose

Indeed they should be. But does that mean there are monsters?

BESW

I think there should be.

Inbar Rose

07:29

Did you like my spider-frog idea?

BESW

And monsters themselves are probably a source of profit too.

@InbarRose Kind of a creepy-crawly version of the poppy fields in Wizard of Oz, right?

Inbar Rose

Giant snakes seems like a natural monster here.

Aligators/Snapping Turtles/Snakes All seems like natural choices.

A wild jungly feel to the island

And then some fantastical monsters as well

BESW

Sounds about right.

Inbar Rose

Like an acid spewing lizard

or man-eating poisonous vines

This is an island or reptiles

BESW

Shocker lizards were a big hit in the original campaign.

Inbar Rose

07:35

Cool

I have a nice idea

Little frogs that are "harmless" but when they die/are killed they release a noxious gas.

So be careful not to step on them

And some creature has learned that it can throw these frogs at it's prey to incapacitate them.

A bit funny - but should be interesting! :)

Maybe the Lizardmen have learned this trick too - from nature, and also use the small noxious frogs as weapons.

BESW

Nice.

I like threats that escalate naturally.

"Hey, don't step on those frogs."
"Careful, those guys throw frogs."
"*OH NOES THEY ARE ATTACKING US WITH FROG BOMBS*."

Inbar Rose

:)

I think it would be cool if the lizardmen used turtle shells as armor - also indicating that there are lots of big turtles on the island - and that their shell is very strong!

BESW

07:52

Inbar Rose

:)

Something like this: Only maybe with Alligators?

deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/Shark_Tooth_Club

As a weapon that the Lizardmen use?

And.....

room6rockstars.blogspot.co.il/2010/08/…

Very cool Mauri stuff :)

BESW

Looks good.

@JonathanHobbs [wave]

doppelgreener

Hi!

I like the frog bombs. ;)

Inbar Rose

:)

If the island is Jungly and reptilian then the reptiles need to take on all the roles of the other animals (which is cool)

So like.. What reptile is the king of the mountains?

LizardLions?

What Reptile controls the caves?

doppelgreener

@InbarRose [Avatar's approach to animals immediately kicks in with visuals]

BESW

08:01

@JonathanHobbs Hee.

Yeah, a lot of Serpentian magic was based on fleshcrafting, so realistic evolution can be thrown out the window.

Inbar Rose

Maybe Singing Turtles - so named because their wales echo from the caves in beautiful melodies which attract unwary travelers (like sirens) and these turtles are camouflaged as rocks and then ambush their prey with sharp pointy teeth! blocking their prey inside the caves.

LizardLion:

doppelgreener

There's a chapter in Endymion - thankfully this information isn't spoilers - where the characters are walking through ice caves through some natives used to the caves, hunting and hunted by some fuzzy beastial predators named wraiths. They ask why there are caves through the ice. The natives are somehow amazed someone might not know this.

They answer saying that the wraiths they hunt are only the larval form of the adult wraiths - it is those that make the tunnels.

@InbarRose Awesome.

Er, I'll correct myself there: they're walking with natives who are used to the caves.

@InbarRose so it's possible the reptile that controls the caves is the reptile that made them.

[leaves this animal as a total mystery for players to fill in]

Inbar Rose

Are their birds here?

Or winged serpents?

Maybe like flying squirrels - serpents that can float and glide through the air?

Like those lizards that walk very fast over the water?

doppelgreener

@InbarRose birds and reptiles are cousins, so there are totally birds. the birds might even still be lizardy. there may be raptorbirds (watch out for flocks)

Inbar Rose

oooo, pterodactyls!

Like.. almost birds

Pterodactyls with feathers!

t0.gstatic.com/…

Chrysopelea

Chrysopelea, or more commonly known as the flying snake, is a genus that belongs to the family Colubridae. Flying snakes are mildly venomous, though they are considered harmless because their toxicity is not dangerous to humans. Their range is in Southeast Asia (the mainland (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), Greater and Lesser Sundas, Maluku, and the Philippines), southernmost China, India, and Sri Lanka. Gliders Chrysopelea is also known by its common name "flying snake". It climbs using ridge scales along its belly, pushing against rough bark surface of tree trunks, allowing it to move...

"Flying snake" ...

doppelgreener

08:13

Also, in case it's relevant: dinosaurs could well have been warm-blooded. But it's still a matter of debate.

BESW

I'm starting to feel like Silurians wouldn't be out of place here...

Inbar Rose

@BESW No, probably not.

doppelgreener

Inbar Rose

"Flying snakes are able to glide better than flying squirrels and other gliding animals, despite the lack of limbs, wings, or any other wing-like projections, gliding through the forest and jungle it inhabits with the distance being as great as 100 m.[10][13] Their destination is mostly predicted by ballistics; however, they can exercise some in-flight attitude control by "slithering" in the air.[1]"

doppelgreener

@BESW maybe that's what a halfway-Yuan Ti looks like?

BESW

08:15

@JonathanHobbs Old-school Silurians, definitely.

Inbar Rose

Those flying snakes are awesome.

And real!

BESW

doppelgreener

@BESW In that case: weird humanoid race, or a member of the Yuan Ti?

BESW

I'm not sure there's room for a new humanoid race, but I think Silurians are definitely good fodder for yuan-ti character design.

doppelgreener

@BESW Yeah there probably is not room for it

Inbar Rose

08:18

video.nationalgeographic.com/video/flying_reptiles

doppelgreener

@InbarRose I sense you are excited about this discovery of flying snakes

Inbar Rose

It's awesome.

BESW

Flying snakes are definitely going in.

Inbar Rose

:)

The sheer horror of thinking at any minute a snake can LAND ON YOU.

doppelgreener

@BESW I am glad this campaign is not set in Australia. Fantasy Australia would have flying spiders.

BESW

08:20

The Wall Street Journal once told people that Guam's brown tree snakes "hang from trees like fat brown strands of cooked spaghetti."

@JonathanHobbs Spsh. Fantasy Australia would have flying spider-snakes.

Also, I have a link for you to stare at in horror.

Ballooning (spider)

Ballooning, sometimes called kiting, is a behaviour in which spiders and some other invertebrates use air-borne dispersal to move between locations. A spider (usually limited to individuals of a small species), or spiderling after hatching, will climb as high as it can, stand on raised legs with its abdomen pointed upwards ("tiptoeing"), and then release several silk threads from its spinnerets into the air. These automatically form a triangular shaped parachute Many spiders use especially fine silk, called "gossamer" to lift themselves off a surface, or, the silk may be used by a spi...

Inbar Rose

That is also scary.

There should definitely be crabs. fire crabs!

Crabs that snap their snappers so hard that it makes sparks.

2

Their claws are often used to make fire.

Mostly dangerous to elves - because elves wear flammable clothing!

doppelgreener

@BESW Oh, no, this is fine. This is like using a little parachute; one they can't use often because producing web takes a lot out of a spider. It's a different matter if they have wings and can fly after you.

@InbarRose Sounds totally reasonable when you consider the Mantis Shrimp. I wonder what the evolutionary purpose is? (if it isn't just that a Wizard thought it would be cool, which is completely reasonable)

Inbar Rose

@JonathanHobbs To burn elves clothing?

The sparks scare away larger predators?

doppelgreener

@InbarRose the elves are relatively recent

Inbar Rose

@JonathanHobbs I know, that was a joke. :P

doppelgreener

08:31

could be that they prefer dark areas, where they can use brilliant flashes of light to stun their (small, puny) prey, and to illuminate their surroundings.

Inbar Rose

As well

Maybe they start bush fires and then eat the burned prey :P

omg. great idea...

mating season - the crabs come onto the land in huge numbers - and it usually causes lots of wildfires - whcih results in lots of burned meat that the crabs can consume.

doppelgreener

this isn't australia dangit

Inbar Rose

haha

doppelgreener

it's a little island; they wouldn't handle that so well

Inbar Rose

Meh

Fantasy

Mating seasons happens once every 5 years? :P

doppelgreener

08:33

Fantasy keeping it real and following a semblance of logic :P

Inbar Rose

Everything I suggested is possible! :P

Except maybe LizardLions.

doppelgreener

In case you're unaware: Australian wildlife thrives off bushfires. We have species of grass that will die off, and leave long, dry grass covering the ground - and stay that way, only regenerating after a bushfire, which the dead grass encourages. Also, our Eucalyptus trees are full of Eucalyptus oil - which is highly flammable. Eucalyptus trees don't merely burn down, they ignite then explode, spreading the fire to other, neighbouring Eucalyptus trees.

Inbar Rose

Your Australian ?

doppelgreener

I am!

Inbar Rose

Didn't know.

Now all those Australia reference make sense.

doppelgreener

08:38

Yeah ;)

A bushfire-fed ecosystem would be very very bad on a little and densely populated island, and probably not very sustainable for the ecosystem itself: the entire island would wipe itself out and be dead for a few years.

Inbar Rose

Luckily the lizardfolk have been maintaining this island for years and have ritualistically ingrained managing it's strange ecosystem part of their species culture. Every 5 years during the great festival of the fire crab - the lizardfolk take to the beaches putting out fires and killing crabs which they then eat in a huge feast.

BESW

Two things: first, I'm okay with the lizardfolk knowing exactly what their role is and doing it on purpose. Second, what if the ecosystem was being held in balance by the Serpentians but is now careening out of control, held in check only by the lizardfolk?

So, for example, as the Grower Tribe succumbs to its drug-induced languor, the bits of the ecosystem they were in charge of are running amok.

Inbar Rose

oooo - collapsing ecosystems is a cool thing.... for a story.

BESW

08:59