Xitharak, the Cannibal City

[Benthesquid]

The Pitch

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So for an upcoming campaign I'm running, I'm planning on sticking the PCs in Xitharak, the Cannibal City.

"A city populated by cannibals!" you say, gentle reader "That sounds ripe for excitement and many desperate escapes for the PCs as they try to avoid being eaten!'

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"I didn't say that at all," you say. Well, I wasn't talking to you, then, was I?

Well, no. This is much stranger. Basically, the idea for Xitharak arose from my amusement/irritation with the numerous times I've seen 'cannibal' confused with 'anthropophagous'.

Go ahead and scroll down to number one to see what I mean.

"Ben," you say, "is this entire campaign going to be based on pedantry over the cover of a ridiculous stag mag?"

No. No it is not. But that was the starting point! Anyways, between this and some novel that mentioned 'cannibal trees' (again, anthropophagous) a 'vampire city' it somehow came into my mind to create a 'cannibal city' that was accurately named. That is to say, a city that eats other cities. Now the sensible way to do this would be to talk about urban sprawl, about how as a city expands, it tends to envelop the surrounding communities and make them part of it. We'd talk about London, and New York.

This is not that conversation. This is about Xitharak, the extra planar living city that is made up of streets, buildings, and even the occasional park ripped out of the city where they originated. It's about the PCs being caught up when the building they're in is chomped, and having to navigate the strange city.

Will they become a pawn of one of the various factions struggling for power in the city? Will they manage to escape? Will they find a way to kill the Cannibal City? Or to control it?

TL;DR: Xitharak, the extra planar living city that is made up of streets, buildings, and even the occasional park ripped out of the city where they originated. Will they become a pawn of one of the various factions struggling for power in the city? Will they manage to escape? Will they find a way to kill the Cannibal City? Or to control it?
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What I'm looking for help with from you-

1. Suggestions for content:

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I'm looking for a couple sufficiently alien feeling environments, creatures, and civilizations to drive home the point that Xitharak is taking from numerous worlds and planes. If there's an alien feeling magic system that still integrates fairly well with 3.5/Pathfinder, that would be a bonus.

2. Suggestions on how to map the city.

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It should really be a jumble, with no more than a couple city blocks taken from any one location, and those mostly in ruins (Xitharak isn't terribly picky about whether it grabs all the foundations of the buildings it noms), but I would like to have a map I can refer to to maintain consistency, since I plan for the PCs to be stuck in Xitharak for a while, and encountering a number of different factions and environments there.

3. Suggestions on how to divide up the city:

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There won't be too many high level NPCs, for the simple reason that anyone high enough to cast plane shift (or with allies who can) doesn't stay in Xitharak very long, unless they're there for a specific purpose. But the PCs will be there for quite a while, and will level up accordingly. I'm looking for some way to limit their movements so they don't run into the higher level opponents straight off the bat just by choosing the wrong direction. I'd also ideally like it to be a soft restriction- IE, make it difficult but not impossible to bypass. I was thinking of having parts of the city separated by planar chasms (IE, areas outside of Xitharak's little self contained plane) bridged by, well, bridges. Various entities would have set up camp at these bridges, and in some way be regulating traffic across. IE, the local bigshot in the area they arrive in may have placed a golem guarding the bridge out of his area to prevent any potential slaves from escaping. Once they feel confident in evading/defeating the golem, the PCs can make a break for it.

4. Anything else you think would be cool:

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Nothing to see here, move along

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Playgrounders!

[Benthesquid]

Fear not! I'm not asking the Playground to do all my work for me. Here's an idea of what I already have planned:

The Embassy of Hell:

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At one point, Xitharak bit a chunk off of Dis, the city on the Second Layer of Hell. It consists of half of an iron building, inhabited by a variety of imps and a few more powerful devils. These claim to represent the interests of Hell in Xitharak, but the truth is, they've simply seized the unexpected opportunity to get out of Hell, and have no interest in going back anytime soon. It's really unpleasant there.

The Horde of Many Nations-

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Orcs, orcs, orcs, orcs! As they tend to avoid living in cities, there aren't many orcs in Xitharak. However, there are some, whether they were prisoners in a more built up world, rare urbane exceptions, or were in the Tent City on the Sea of Grass for the coronation of the Orc with Seven Crowns when Xitharak struck. Far from everything they know, they've more or less banded together, and roam the ruined streets of Xitharak in a single horde, taking what they can from the other trapped in the Cannibal City. Differences among tribal, religious, and cultural lines frequently spring up, causing some orcs to split off into their own hordes, and others to recombine.

The Caulborn-

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One of the few entities in Xitharak on purpose, the Caulborn is eager to learn all he can about the Cannibal City, but, being the only of his kind there, is reluctant to expose himself to danger lest the knowledge he has accumulated be lost. Instead, he sends out his curiously inhuman servants (IE, androids to gain knowledge which he then absorbs from their emotionless minds.

More to come.

[Rezby]

Lolth's Treasured:

The high temple of Lolth, taken directly from the drow city in the underdark, in the height of a festival dedicated to Lolth. Full of priestesses and a high priest, they seek to tear the city apart in hopes of damaging it enough to return back to their home plane and city, so they can return to their beloved goddess.

[zzuxon]

This. Is. So. Cool.
And that's a fact.
If you want interesting new content, take a look at gramarie, It'd make sense with this setting.

EDIT: The fact that the OP and the first 2 to post all have an Illithid avatar is clearly an omen demonstrating that you need a section populated by Illithids.

[Avaris]

I've been thinking about the mechanics of mapping the city, and how it consumes new locations. How does this work as an idea?

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The city is roughly circular, and has always been a fairly constant width (I'm thinking 15 to 20 miles across, which puts it on a par with London). In the centre is the heart of the city, which is the only fixed point. Whether any structures exist here is up to you, but all other parts of the city are being slowly drawn into the centre and obliterated. As parts of the city are consumed, parts of other cities are added on the outskirts and slowly drawn into the centre.

The process of being drawn into the centre is not constant, and occurs suddenly, like an earthquake. A 'wedge' of the city is suddenly drawn inwards, with the innermost neighbourhood disappearing completely and the outer ones progressing further into the centre. The division is not neat: part of a neighbourhood or building may be on the wedge that moves, and part may be left behind. This means that as they get closer to the centre neighbourhoods become more and more split up and combined with other areas, meaning the centre is much more chaotic than the outskirts.

I've been trying to draw a diagram, but it is defeating me atm. Let me know if you want me to try and expand on this idea and make it a bit more coherent!

[Freddrick]

I stumbled upon this website while looking for some world maps and thought it might be useful and it seems like a perfect fit for you so here it is:

http://davesmapper.com/

It generates a random map from a bunch of per-generated segments. This means each section would have a different feel.

Enjoy
-Freddrick

Edit: Formatting error ftl.

[Pokonic]

The Necrotic Ward of Xiza'ras

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No one know's what a Xiza'ras is, actually, and neither do the actual dwellers of the ward. While it has it's fair share of necromancers, there's not much 'necrotic' about it, either.

The "natives" of this place are a odd lot, being humans with features that could pass from anywhere to being a dab of orc blood to demonic. Neverless, these strange humans have grey skin and black hair, along with pointed, batlike ears.

Now, normally, this would just make them yet another odd human group that has been changed because of isolation, but what truly makes these individuals special is there ability to summon a Contract.

A Contract is just that; a physical document. Every native born of the Xiza'ras ward has the ability to summon up a Contract detailing what they are willing to do, what they will not do, ect and ect. In effect, a Xiza'ras native is tied directly to this magical item: They must act according to what is on it, but can cause it to vanish and reappear with a thought, and can alter what is on it. A Lawful Xiza'ras dweller often has a ornate and detailed Contract, while a Chaotic Xiza'ras dweller often has a plane, vaguly worded one.

One of the main fears of a Xiza'ras dweller is that, if a creature besides one of there own touches it, they cannot automaticly call it back to them until they have touched it once more. Hence, it is possible for a Xiza'ras dweller to be controlled by another just by holding it's Contract, even if said thief cannot actually write on it.


By extent, much of their culture is contract based, with everything from banking to marrieges detailed in the Contracts of there law-makers, the many within those storied scrolls are enforced and expected to appear in all contracts.

Now, about those necromancers: there are plenty of spellcaster's among the Xiza'ras, but they loath the useage of necromancy.

As it is, there dead do not retain the ability to summon there Contracts any more. This is akin to loosing there souls.

[Benthesquid]

I stumbled upon this website while looking for some world maps and thought it might be useful and it seems like a perfect fit for you so here it is:

http://davesmapper.com/

It generates a random map from a bunch of per-generated segments. This means each section would have a different feel.

Enjoy
-Freddrick

Edit: Formatting error ftl.

That's pretty much perfect for my purposes, thank you!

[TroubleBrewing]

Have you read China Meville's The Scar? It's basically this, but with pirates and ships instead of planes and cities. I also recommend the Hungry City Chronicles, which details a future where cities are on giant tracks and chase each other about, literally devouring each other and dismantling them for parts.

Regardless, have you considered giving the inhabitants a semblance of agency? I mean, resources must get scarce if the average inhabitant can't leave. The long-term citizens might have been born there, and citizenry tends to take on a personality that mirrors the city they come from in most fantasy literature. Maybe high-level citizens with access to planar travel scout new places for the city to eat. This provides an interesting adventure hook, as the Mysterious Stranger who just showed up in the PC's hometown could be a scout for Xitharak!

[Trickquestion]

Have you considered making Xitharak not only a plane traveling city, but possibly a time traveling one as well? Have futuristic neighborhoods right next to primitive ones, and possibly multiple versions of the same person, swallowed up from different points in time?

[Owlglass Moot]

This sounded really familiar to me for some reason, but I couldn't think of why. It was driving me crazy, but I finally found what I was thinking of in an old plot-idea thread.

Looking forward to seeing the direction this takes!

[DMwithoutPC's]

This really remembers me of the Hungry City chronicles, by Philip Reeve. It'spost apocolyptic setting, where the world has turned to "Urban Darwinism". Basicly, all cities were made mobile and sustained by proccessing the other cities. It's a realy Cool series!

[dragon666]

HI, i really like you idea. keep it up the good work.

[Egregious Kelly]

Awesome idea! It got me to register to post a reply!

China Mieville also had a short story concerning "via ferae" or "wild roads;" streets that jumped through time and space, appearing in random parts of certain cities. Which leads me to wonder, is Xitharak the only one of its kind? Via ferae could be viruses or parasites that infect it, or possibly its young. They could be a means of escape for lower level characters.

Have the PCs become familiar with a street and its inhabitants, then have it disappear. Some time passes, then the street reappears in a different neighborhood, devoid of its previous residents. Have the road disappear and reappear a few times if needed for the PCs to figure it out. Or have a resident of the street leave a graffiti message for the PCs.

Some concerns: where do the residents get food, water, and air? Newly devoured neighborhoods? Spells? Rooftop gardens? Did Xitharak eat a water treatment plant that the inhabitants have painstakingly maintained? (Which is slowly advancing to Xitharak's center to be digested, condemning everyone to die of thirst unless the machinery can be moved.)

[Egregious Kelly]

Broken Galadhon, the Elvish Remnant:

Years ago Xitharak ate an entire branch off of an Elvish tree city. Now the branch's base is embedded at the end of one of Xitharak's streets, and smaller branches of Broken Galadhon lead to two other neighborhoods. There is nothing underneath Broken Galadhon, just the interplanar void that Xitharak floats through. Houses and buildings in this neighborhood were all magically grown out of the wood of the tree, and leaves usually make up the buildings' roofs.

When this neighborhood was taken by Xitharak, roughly 100 elves were brought with it. Since then, that number has increased to an estimated 200, as other elven expatriates moved there. The elves have done their utmost to keep Broken Galadhon for elves only, and the three entrance points are constantly guarded. Elven PCs, and possibly polite, well spoken half-elven PCs can gain entance; other races are out of luck.

[Boogastreehouse]

I think it looks nice with a little space


One of the oldest inhabitants could be a culture of melancholy beings (I'm initially imagining a group of maybe a dozen uniformly impassive Grey Elves) who continue to mourn for their lost home, a graceful palace which was an achievement of heart-breaking beauty, drawn to the center of the city and destroyed many years ago. They are a very powerful and immortal race, but centuries of despair have made them disinclined to act, as all actions have grown to seem pointless. They watch the ruined sections of foreign cities appear on the outskirts of the Cannibal City, doomed buildings and streets gradually getting dragged to the center of Xitharak, and ultimately consumed. While they still ostensibly seek a means of escape from Xitharak, their efforts have become mere half-hearted gestures; futile rituals, disinterested explorations and listless examinations that they perform more out of obligation than optimism.

In truth there is a resignation that has quietly settled into the hearts of most of these people, and while it's never really discussed, many of them are just waiting for the day when another portion of their home-city (or at least something familiar from their world) appears. Once Xitharak has taken another bite and introduced a location which feels like "home" to them, most of them will sigh, and simply move to take residence there, riding passively along as the area is dragged closer and closer to the heart of Xitharak's hungry geography, and silently await the inevitable consumption.

I imagine them carrying a few relics of their old home, or maybe they are burdened with just a single statue, which they treat with great care. If the players can convince them to try to truly live again and seek escape, they will have to eventually abandon this artifact which keeps them chained to the past. Otherwise it will eventually accompany them to their destruction.

Edit:

I've been thinking about the mechanics of mapping the city, and how it consumes new locations. How does this work as an idea?

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The city is roughly circular, and has always been a fairly constant width (I'm thinking 15 to 20 miles across, which puts it on a par with London). In the centre is the heart of the city, which is the only fixed point. Whether any structures exist here is up to you, but all other parts of the city are being slowly drawn into the centre and obliterated. As parts of the city are consumed, parts of other cities are added on the outskirts and slowly drawn into the centre.

The process of being drawn into the centre is not constant, and occurs suddenly, like an earthquake. A 'wedge' of the city is suddenly drawn inwards, with the innermost neighbourhood disappearing completely and the outer ones progressing further into the centre. The division is not neat: part of a neighbourhood or building may be on the wedge that moves, and part may be left behind. This means that as they get closer to the centre neighbourhoods become more and more split up and combined with other areas, meaning the centre is much more chaotic than the outskirts.

I've been trying to draw a diagram, but it is defeating me atm. Let me know if you want me to try and expand on this idea and make it a bit more coherent!

I didn't realize it, but I partially based my idea on the idea presented here, which isn't necessarily part of the OP's cannon.



I think it looks nice with a little space

[Everyl]

I'm really curious to hear more about this setting. I hope the OP posts some updates as it develops. I'm especially curious about where food and water come from in the city, since cities are normally pretty poor for food production, and this one is on its own isolated mini-plane. Was an elven forest-city partially dragged in, including some orchard-housing? Are there clerics who wield disproportionate social influence because they can cast Create Food and Water? Have ruined segments of the city been plowed under by people from other segments to make makeshift farms? If there's psionics in the setting, is there an order of psions/psychic warriors who rely on Sustenance for survival? Are there people who use planar travel powers to import food and resources to trade for whatever lost treasures have been pulled into the city? (A Psion could do that as early as level 5, in theory.)

[Darcand]

Some concerns: where do the residents get food, water, and air? Newly devoured neighborhoods? Spells? Rooftop gardens? Did Xitharak eat a water treatment plant that the inhabitants have painstakingly maintained? (Which is slowly advancing to Xitharak's center to be digested, condemning everyone to die of thirst unless the machinery can be moved.)

I was thinking about this too and imagining the frantic scene as the various factions descend on a newly devoured section of city in a mad scramble to secure resources.

[Grimsage Matt]

I have an idea if you want one.


The Deep Trolls Citadel

Torn from one of their hidden halls, the Deep Trolls of Kazam'korak (KAI-ZAM CHORE-ACK) don't know what the flaming heck is going on. With their primary generators offline, and their long range radios not picking up any other signals, they have assumed the worst. While they were a observational outpost studying the Drow, they had the standard sub-factories and materials. In a months time, they transformed a part of the city into a fortress bristling with strange weapons, moving horseless wagons made of metal, and they are prepping the helicopters for scouting.

With only a single Sage and a handful of Thanes, the four hundred trolls are cautious, and making tentative forays. Noticing the aggressive nature of the locals, and the lack of farming area, Sage Reul'Var has issued a directive to gather greenhouse components, along with water recyclers. While the first harvest is not yet ready, there are three recycler units ready and working.

Technologically advanced, near paranoid, and highly distrustful of all other races, they have holed up, and are searching for a way home. Already, they plan, already they conduct experiments, already they search for information.

They are the Ironborn. They are the Deep Trolls. They will survive.


What Makes them Different;

Deep trolls are magically dead. They can't use magic, psionics, grammire, incarnum, invocations, hell they can't even use pact magic or Martial Maneuvers. Near immune to anything that's not a EX ability, and even against high end gramire, they are highly resistant.

They use D&D's Steam and Sorcery book for steampunk goodness. A few things about them though.

Sage Reul'Var; Deep Troll Generic Expert 20. He is smart, scary smart. In any other race, he would be a wizard. A master "techmnomancer" he has studied under two of the greatest minds of the Deep Trolls, Deep-Sage's Tesla and Sla'vast. As such, he understands advanced electrical theory and mobile armor theory, but Kazam'korak was to be his first command, his trial run as a leader. While still a scientist, his goal is to keep his people safe, and get them out alive.

Thane Gurn; Deep Troll Fighter 5/Pilot 10/Ranger 10. Gurn survived the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Final demon invasion of the Deep Troll Homeworld. A master of steam warfare, he honed his skills across millions of battlefields, and even continued to wage war against the Great Enemy after the Trolls escaped to the stars. But, that was a long time ago. Given a easy job babysitting Sage Reul'Var, he was expected to have a nice, peaceful command as a reward for eons of loyal service. Among the demons, devils and others of the lower planes, the guns of the Iron Hunter have been a death sentence for epochs, and now, he stands to protect the Deep Trolls in a hostile land, with extreme prejudice.

[Alexkubel]

The great plant (treatment plant C52D3524)

the only semi permanent structure in the city, as it's a mobile structure, it permanently is driving towards the outskirts, just fast enough to not be pulled in. defended by multiple turrets with strange weapons that fire azure bolts of endrich energy, smiting their target into a large black or red or 'whatever coloured mark without ay real logic for it being that colour' mark on the ground. originally crewed by a group of humans they have recruited from whatever the area they're in at the time, the recruits are trained to maintain the facility. it's been here some time, most people know of it. special water carriers come and go most of the time, sometimes to take water great distances.