world-building

A note on Myconids

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Monsters, mushrooms, musings, Roleplaying Game, RPG, world-building , ,

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I don’t think I’ve ever used myconids, but that’s something I want to remediate soon enough. However, if I were to stick to D&D canon lore (which I won’t), myconids are supposed to be found exclusively in the underdark, the subterranean world home to the iconic drow. This was set in stone, so to speak, by Gary Gigax’s D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1e), which of course, borrowed heavily on established hollow earth fiction (Jules Verne’s Voyage au centre de la Terre). More to the point, Gigax also borrowed the myconids, which were created in the earlier module  A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, which was an subteranean adventure (mostly) but in no way deep in the bowels of the earth-subteranean.

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They belong on the surface!

Leaving the myconids out of most of the more typical (surface) encounters is both sad and needless, in my opinion. Put in any setting, the potential is just mind-blowing…

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Deathbloom Thallid (MtG), perfect for a Chult campaign conversion

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Taverns, dives, pubs & cabarets of S&T

David Skelector Fantasy, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Streets&Turmoil, world-building ,

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The Crooked Fingers

Owned by Old Mindy’s Crew

Fencer in the backroom.

Lechers & Liquors Club

Owned by Maffeo’s Unrepentants

Disreputable, even by Disgrace Ward standard.

The Blackened Teeth

Owned by the Sons of Arson

The most impressive fireplace in town.

Poporo’s Bordello

Live girls (and some dead ones)

Owned by independent, pay tax to Bonemongers

Poporo the Necro-Pimp owns this nefarious joint.

The Fleeing Beauty Boardinghouse

Owned by independent, pays « tax » to Sons of Arson and Fetid Brigade

Rent rooms on second and third floor. Fourth floor is off-limit.

The Pierced Barrel Pub

Owned by the Broken Wheel Syndicate

Best halfling brandy in town.

The Stray Bullet

Owned by the Broken Wheel Syndicate

Changed hands a couple of months ago. Ex-owner forcefully ousted.

The Red Orphan

Owned by the Furniture Mishandling Club

Expect mimics.

The Turtle Shell

Owned by independant, doesn’t seem to pay taxes to anyone

Inside the shell of a dragon turtle (big specimen). Neutral. Don’t wear gang colors.

A Pair of Bludgeons

Owned by Golden Râ, higher-up of the Church of Sempiternal Deprecation

Members only. Fat, greedy merchants talk business.

The Domain

Owned by the 77 Red Dragons

Non-ghouls will feel some unease. At the very least.

Up the Ladder

« Watch your step »

Owned by independent, doesn’t seem to pay anyone

Drunk clients are often lowered by rope so they don’t break their neck falling from the 90 steps ladder.

Busy Wheelbarrow

Owned by independent, pays tax to the Northwall Creepers

Offers a service of « transportation » back home. Efficient if not very comfortable.

The Hidden Atrium

Owned by the Hidden Atrium Masks

Hidden. Really.

The Hourglass Cabaret

Owned by the Hidden Atrium Masks

Managed by charming Madame Colombina. The most haut-de-gamme you can find in the district.

The Passage’s Hole

Owned by the Passage’s Middlemen

Surprisingly spacious once you’re in.

Dart & Dime Cafe

Owned by Fate’s Favorites

Have gambling tables. No cheating.

The Dryad’s Bosom

Owned by Fate’s Favorites

Good food, try the needlefish.

The Winning Cockatrice

Owned by the Marfark Street Mumblers

Fighting pit. All kind of fights. Floor is one big red stain. Bloodthirsty crowd.

District Invasion

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Monsters, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Streets&Turmoil, world-building

As if the numerous troublesome gangs weren’t enough, outside parties often invite themselves to the woe of the inhabitants.

Gargoyles from the Folly

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There’s many clutches of gargoyles living among the Folly’s dizzying heights. They’re very territorial and constantly at each other’s throats. They mostly keep to their high above ground perches but recently, the Covellites gargoyles, under pressure by an alliance of Realgars and Pyrites, have started making forays into the Harlequin.

Thrill-seeking Enclave Elves

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Boredom can be a powerful driving force, suffer a couple of centuries of it and I’m sure you’ll agree. A manifestation of this is expressed by those elven interlopers going for a stroll in the « bad neighborhood ». Most of the time, such a group is escorted by hired arms and the elves themselves are comically clad with antique (and mostly useless) armors.  Less often, these Enclave Elves want to really test themselves and get some action. Some are actually quite good at it.

Kwaggers from… the Kwag

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Be they of any races, kwaggers are kwaggers. Crazy, violent slum people who don’t even seem to want to better their lives. But then, the Kwag is literally a nexus of bad energy. Folks who live there don’t stay sane very long. Sometimes things spill out, a gate gets destroyed or a levy-bridge breaks, slamming down, and the Kwaggers swarm over, howling and clawing like madmen.

At a leisurely pace

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Streets&Turmoil, world-building

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Yeah… Okay, maybe not like that but palanquins? Definitely.

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You’re someone important? That’s how you go around!

After all, what better way to display your status?

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Yep

If you can’t afford having your own palanquin and its carriers, rent one!

  • The Steadfast Twenty: the smoothest ride in town is offered by this group of indistinguishable bare-chested dwarves.
  • The Hobgoblin Stompers: Iron-booted, dressed in spiked leather armors, the Stompers get you through a crowd without even slowing.
  • Mother Sigma’s Crew: If you don’t mind the putrid odor, this necromancer lady and her tireless minions offers the cheapest ride in town.
  • The Golden Cushion: The Broken Wheel gang have acquired these most extravagant of palanquins, previously owned by the Puulchesera elves before they were forced out of the Enclave with their evil curse & stuff. Now the Halflings mafiosi have set a small business with various carriers indebted to them operating the gilded, heavy palanquins.

Will the PCs ever pay for  a palanquin ride? Doubtful, because:

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