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Wanting to do something BIG
Tweet Topic Started: Oct 10 2007, 02:37 PM (147 Views)
kismetrose Oct 10 2007, 02:37 PM Post #1
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So, my PCs in D&D are currently on their way across a sizeable portion of land, which isn't as much of a big deal anymore. They've traveled long distances before, generally on the backs of flying mounts. What IS a big deal is their end destination - Myth Drannor, one of the greatest adventuring sites in all of Faerun and one of its most tragic losses. The ruins are famous for their devils, dragons, and other freakish things. It's also a popular place for folks to die, thereby adding modern stuff to the ancient relics that remain. In fact it's so damned great that I'm all nervous about it. If the PCs get there, and if they decide to enter... how do I make it stand out? How do I make it absolutely memorable?

Luckily I have plenty of time to work on it, seeing as how Valefor will be running something for a while (hopefully a long while! :D ). But that also means I have to sit myself down and make sure I work on it; there's no way I can try to improvise such a place. (Not that my improv running skills are that great anyway.)

Has anyone here had to plan for something that felt really big? Any suggestions on how to make it extra special?
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kismetrose Oct 12 2007, 03:01 AM Post #2
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So there are about three books for 2nd edition Forgotten Realms that detail Myth Drannor. I've been looking at two of them and realizing a few things.

First, pride seems to be a very popular sin committed by Faerun's greatest and most tragically lost empires (Netheril and Myth Drannor). The Cormanthyr book tries to downplay the racism and privilege of the elves, probably because that book outlines Myth Drannor as a living city that you can actually visit. It's set in the past. But by the time you get to the book that outlines the Fall of Myth Drannor, the pride becomes all too apparent. But pride isn't what really kills Myth Drannor, according to the books, though it really should have.

I don't like the story behind the three nycaloths that pretty much delivered the worst of the damage to the city. They first showed up in the area due to Netheril, tore up some shit, and were imprisoned for their trouble in an invisible thing that floated above Myth Drannor. They were locked up for 1,800 and once accidentally released, they knew just how to fuck the city up. Why not? They'd had nothing to do but watch it for nearly two millennia. But nevermind. It just seems like a weak backstory, weak reasoning. It's a way to absolve the elves, too - "Well, they could be pretty prissy and racist, but since a lot of them died trying to fend off the yugoloths that attacked the city with a huge Army of Darkness, I guess they're heroes." They even called it the "Army of Darkness." Ugh! Too obvious, too easy.

I know that Valefor's developed his own story for the Fall of Myth Drannor. I think that, for my own purposes, I'll be crafting my own vision of what happened there, based on Valefor, the books, and my own thoughts.
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kismetrose Oct 15 2007, 12:57 PM Post #3
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I had briefly hoped that perhaps the 3rd edition Realms materials had a different story for the way that things went down at Myth Drannor. After perusing the main book and Lost Empires, however, I see that they kept the same details. Lost Empires basically condenses materials from the older, 2nd edition books. Meh.
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DaveReaves Oct 16 2007, 09:53 AM Post #4
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So it looks like typical ruins with little to no life in what was obviously a city. Search check after search check gives them nothing but a few dusty pots that may be worth something to the right collector. Night falls, they camp, first watch alerts them to something weird. The city is swarming with ants, nocturnal ants that eat you! Fight off a few dozen ant swarms and look around to find out the ants came from a cavern they were sure wasn't there before.

Who opened the tunnel to let the ants out? Probably something bigger than the PCs who didn't want them snooping in it's lost city. Unfortunately the bad guy's attack didn't work and opened a new hole into the ruins proper.
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kismetrose Oct 16 2007, 04:08 PM Post #5
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Glad to see you, Dave!

Actually, I tend to like the descriptions I've read about Myth Drannor. As an elven city of high magic, even its ruins are beautiful - which makes it all the more sad. The broken streets have remnants of old magic that used to make things glow at night. The towers stand tall, worn, with flowing lines but now threatening undertones - they could be hiding any number of nasty things. The skyways that used to act as lifts to the upper levels might still work, but often they don't. And everywhere is the sense that it was once a seat of immortal greatness.

When my solo character caught her glimpse of Myth Drannor as it was when it was a living city, it broke her heart and changed her in some way. I can only hope to show my players a Myth Drannor that echoes painfully with the memory of a grand dream.
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