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View Full Version : DM Help What do you think of my Orphanage?



Balor01
2014-07-22, 04:23 AM
Orphanage patrons got this house and needed to place Headmaster, Teacher and Cook living quarters into it along with places for kids to be. They do not have the money for rebuilding it so ... what do you think of my choices? :D Re-edit it, if you feel like.

http://shrani.si/f/W/ym/1bgyH78P/new-map-23-tower.png

SpikeFightwicky
2014-07-24, 05:07 PM
You have 2 classrooms, should you have 2 teachers? Unless one of the classrooms is like a teaching lab or something (what kind of tech level is it?). Unless the headmaster doesn't like the teacher, I'd swap Level 3, room 2 with room 5. Not sure if the faculty's "generally nice" or "generally mean" to the kids / eachother. This would impact my suggestion.

Also, is Room 1 on levels 2 and 3 another 'Entry Hall', or something else?

Sith_Happens
2014-07-24, 06:04 PM
10/10 would burn down.

veti
2014-07-24, 07:01 PM
I'm almost afraid to ask...

... why do you need a floor plan of an orphanage?

Flashy
2014-07-24, 07:54 PM
I'm almost afraid to ask...

... why do you need a floor plan of an orphanage?

And why is there an altar in the children's bedroom...


10/10 would burn down.

I actually lol'd.

Sartharina
2014-07-25, 02:25 AM
And why is there an altar in the children's bedroom...Presumably so they can pray to whatever Good God Of Orphanages at night and feel safe+protected.

Not all altars are for evil purposes.

10/10 would burn down.Heh... my first thoughts were something along these lines as well. :smallbiggrin:

Which raises the question - how can it be laid out so that it provides the most dramatic backdrop for an adventure when it gets burned down?

OracleofWuffing
2014-07-25, 03:06 AM
Depending on the amount of kitchen and cooking supplies, the cook's living quarters are almost as big as the headmaster's office and living quarters combined. You also have kids split on the ground floor and the third floor, so taking attendance is a bit of a problem.

Replacing things, though, depends a bit on what you want the orphanage to be. As far as a competent one that actually cares about its residents, the only thing that comes to mind is that at least one classroom could possibly double as a dining room, removing the need to have designated dining areas. However, assuming a population of 8 orphans and 3 staff, you're unlikely to have any amount of comfort and have all residents dining in the same room. Depending on the climate and location, it might be a better idea to just have the kitchen at level 1, room 3, and then the actual dining could be outside. (Just as a practical concern, I don't want to meet the chef who thinks it is a good idea to prepare food a flight of stairs away from where it is served.) Certain classes might also be taught outdoors, allowing for a better commons area on floor 2 if we don't need both classrooms.

With staff areas on floor 3 and most of the orphans on floor 1, there may be a concern about residents sneaking out at night. I mean, that's fixed by deadbolts or just not caring if orphans leave, but it is something to consider. And if you're using deadbolts, you're also stuck with the fact that should when the orphanage is sat aflame, those orphans have no way out until someone else opens the door. That means there's fewer targets to shoot with lightning afterwards.

If you're going for something a bit more grimey, I'd use the basement to hold most of the orphans, so that the teacher and cook can take rooms 4 and 6 on floor 1. Then rooms 5 and 7 would be used to store tools and supplies needed for their jobs (bonus, nobody from room 7 needs to walk through room 6 if they want a drink at night). Room 3 is for general food preparation, sadly probably the best place for now. And your dining room is wherever you can find a seat that doesn't have a rat on it. :smalltongue:

Edit: Upon further thought, using rooms 4 and 6 for bedrooms for anyone is kind of a bad idea. Unless the bed is 5 feet long, there just isn't a way you can orient a bed in a way that doesn't prevent access to a door. So, using what I said before, rooms 4 and 6 for storage (chest/cupbords with locks), and 5 and 7 for quarters.

Sartharina
2014-07-26, 04:34 PM
Rooms 14, 15, 16, and 17 are not a good idea to use for kids - store the children on the 2nd and 3rd levels. Instead, those rooms are more storage area material than children rooms.

I'd suggest making 13 a playspace, not dining room. What's room 26? It looks like it could be some sort of kitchen, especially if they hollow out under the stairs for storage space for cooking supplies, so that Room 25 could work as a dining room and classroom both. Rooms 21, 22, and 23 are really awkward, because they're essentially hallways.

TechnoWarforged
2014-07-28, 03:30 PM
10/10 would burn down.

+1, here's your coupon for winning one internet.


Also the important question: What's in the basement?

OracleofWuffing
2014-07-30, 04:41 AM
The description off to the right of the floor plan says that's for the Kitchen and Cook's Quarters, though I suspect that it is also for gunpowder, charcoal, kerosene, dry pine needles, oil, and maybe a couple of barrels of lint, too.

Hey, it's cheaper to buy this stuff in bulk, so I'm just being economical about it, okay? :smalltongue:

Sartharina
2014-07-30, 03:40 PM
I think that's a bad idea - kitchens need access to good ventilation, which is nigh-impossible in a basement.

jiriku
2014-07-31, 12:56 AM
Classes on first floor, offices and rooms for adults on second, children sleep on third. You protect the children from robbers and evildoers, while restricting their ability to sneak out at night, by placing the adults between them and the entrance. Also, rooms should be organized on the principle that the most public and frequently-accessed spaces are closes to the entrances, while private rooms and storerooms are further away.

Ettina
2014-08-07, 10:01 AM
How old are the children? Do they have orphans of all ages (in which case you may want to consider where babies go vs where older kids go) or just a certain age range? If they only have a certain age range, where do orphans outside of that age range go? (Another orphanage, work in factories, out on the street, etc.)