Community Worldbuilding Project [Ishka: Urban and Urbane]

[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