The Black Market Slavers - a side quest

Lorelei

So, i've got a new PC in my game and I try to incorporate some of their backstories into our own campaign. Hers seemed to fit perfectly with something i had brewing already.... Her PCs village was raided by orcs and she was captured as a child, enslaved and eventually trained and forced to fight in the the secret fighting pits of the slavers for years, and thankfully winning. She quickly becomes one of the best fighters in the pit - her hatred for the Masters guiding her every win. Years later, escaping with the help of an already established PC in my game, Lel (her name) has vowed an oath of vengeance to hunt down and kill the 11 Orc Masters of the Slave Pits.

As my PCs make their way to the city of Dusk, there is a Black Market located within the Miner's Row District. It is here I am hoping Lel will overhear or notice the shady tent in the corner where there is a half orc and a drow doing whispered dealings (obviously slave trades). From there, if pursued, the slavers enter the sewer system and eventually to their small hideout within Dusk, among the many throughout the kingdom.

[Deleted User]

These are great, and i love the backstory as well. Wish I was there playing in your campaign - noone on Flinders Island is interested in RPG, so I resort to mapmaking and writing instead.

Wyvern

This is a sheer delight, as ever, Lorelei! I love the way the market tent roofs fade out so you can see the interiors!

Having spent an RPGing lifetime designing and running settlements using the Judges Guild style of drawing (first and thus most influential for me, back in the late '70s) - so you don't get the roofs, just the ground floor walls, windows, interior rooms, stairs, etc., for all the buildings - I still struggle to cope with settlement maps that only show rooftops everywhere!

(Oh, but isn't that the plot from the original "Conan" movie? ;D )

Lorelei

Thanks, guys

@Wyvern - Actually, I wouldn't know, i've never seen Conan - only bits and pieces here and there - she may have, though

@Quenten - Flinders Island? Wow. Have you been there all your life? It must be beautiful

[Deleted User]

I moved her when I retired 6 years ago (previously radiation oncologist in Brisbane). Flinders is a small 65x30 km island in the Bass Strait, between mainland Australia and Tasmania. We are only 100 metres south of the 40th parallel, so often get the Roaring Forties all the way from Argentina - no land mass in between there and here!. But it is indeed very beautiful, with over 70 beaches - we say if you see footprints on the sand, it is too crowded and go somewhere else. We live just a three minute walk from our beach, and have a beautiful view over the sea to the ranges beyond and the smaller islands. But only 850 people live here permanently, so though small, it is very sparsely populated - and noone to play RPG with (still love human RPG rather than computer RPG, even though I am going on for 67). Anyway, thanks for asking.
The views below are all from my computer desk.

Lorelei

Ahhh....that's my fantasy....retiring in a remote, beautiful place with good weather, and good people. Lucky you

CharlesWayneRobinson

I love how you transitioned from the streets to the sewer in the last map. Cool concept! :-)

Wyvern

Quenten, while I appreciate the "human contact" aspect may be more important for you, there is always solo RPGing if you really want to continue playing (that's how I started playing; it was several years before I even knew anyone else who was interested, let alone actually had the rules as well!). Don't want to derail Lorelei's topic further here though...

[Deleted User]

I am trying, so far without luck, to coopt my wife into playing. Ah well, just keep on trying I guess. Thanks for your interest anyway, and we had better stop this 'sideline topic' before Lorelei takes a big stick to us.

HadrianVI

Wow. Very nice work, Lorelei.

@Quenten: Nice view:)

Lorelei

Well, Quenten, I live on Long Island and THIS is the view from my desk... hahaha
No worries on the thread hijack...it's just another bunch of maps, anyway

Lorelei

To be fair....this is just 1/4 mile walk from my home and the latter about a 15 minute drive. I do live in a lovely place - I haven't managed a home with such a view as yours, yet

Dogtag

@Lorelei. These are stunning. Your skill just keeps growing and your sense of space and your eye for detail continue to impress and inspire me. I especially love the transparent tents and how you drew the sewer tunnels to give them a cylindrical look. Can I ask, how did you do the tents? I presume it isn't just a transparency effect. For the sewers, did you use an inverted bevel effect? Or did you use fades on the walls/floors? Or something else? The brick textures are perfect (I love the small circular bits at the intersections). The lighting effects here and there add an appropriate mood. You're spoiling your players rotten and they probably have no idea just how much. *is humbled*

Also, the adventure sounds fun. I worry a little for the characters about that cramped — and likely grumpy — drider down there!

Cheers,
~Dogtag

Dogtag

@Quenten. If you haven't already done so, you might want to check out the growing trend in virtual tabletop (VTT) RPG gaming. My group lives about 30-40 miles apart in different directions and it's not always convenient to gather in person. Using a VTT let's us keep playing even when we can't spare the travel times to play PnP in person. Even if we only play for 60-90 min. it's better than nothing, and we can manage it during the week (you may have trouble doing that if your group is scattered across time zones or lay lines, though). You might be surprised how many VTT groups are out there and available to join, or you might be able to reach out to your friends (mates? — forgive me, I'm an ugly American) living far off and arrange something with them. Food for thought, if nothing else.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

JimP

Yeah, I am going to use one of the VTTs myself, Epic-Table.

Note that some are totally free, some the referee pays and each player pays, and some just the referee pays. And some are game system specific.

Lorelei

Posted By: Dogtag@Lorelei. These are stunning. Your skill just keeps growing and your sense of space and your eye for detail continue to impress and inspire me. I especially love the transparent tents and how you drew the sewer tunnels to give them a cylindrical look. Can I ask, how did you do the tents? I presume it isn't just a transparency effect. For the sewers, did you use an inverted bevel effect? Or did you use fades on the walls/floors? Or something else? The brick textures are perfect (I love the small circular bits at the intersections). The lighting effects here and there add an appropriate mood. You're spoiling your players rotten and they probably have no idea just how much.*is humbled*

Also, the adventure sounds fun. I worry a little for the characters about that cramped — and likely grumpy — drider down there!

Cheers,
~Dogtag

Thanks, Dogtag Although, i cannot take credit for the fantastic sewers - only the added tunnels i created myself on the "slavers hideout" map. The others are symbols from the CSUAC - i just placed them really carefully and thoughfully

[Deleted User]

Dogtag, I am utterly ignorant about VTT - any chance of whispering to me about it, and how I could get started? And Lorelei, your pics are stunning - but not so much the view from your desk (!)

Dogtag

Quenten, here's part of a post I made a while back:

You can find a list of some popular virtual table tops at the RPG Virtual TableTop site. You can also find a feature-comparison matrix there, too. I don't know how comprehensive their list is, but it's a good place to start.

The site might be a little out of date but it has some good info to start with. Honestly though, nowadays, even a simple Google (or DuckDuckGo) search for virtual tabletop should set you on your way.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

[Deleted User]

Thanks so much for this. Now I know what VTT stands for

JimP

I went to that site some years ago... their listings could be out of date. One of my relatives uses and likes Battle Ground. I have decided thast Epic Table will work for me.

VTTs that have regular updates are the ones to look for. Some are in limbo and some do get updated but rarely. And some are worked on regularly.

I settled on Epic Table because only I have to pay for it, the players pay nothing. Othwer VTTs, the referee and all players pay a license fee. Some of these fees are not transferable. One VTT has a license fee for the referee, who can have several 'floating licenses'. Which means a license isn't tied to a particular person but can be used by whomever is playing.

I noticed that some VTTS have a limit, like 5 people playing. Since I have gamed with as many as 8 players running 12 characters total, 5 is too few.

So, good luck !

[Deleted User]

Thanks JimP. I have looked at the references that Dogtag gave me, so who knows, I may soon be back playing D&D

JimP

I forgot to mention one thing, evaluation time for the software.

One of the reasons I picked Epic Table is the 30 day evaluation period.

One of the other VTTs has only a 30 minute eval period. It takes me much longer than that to decide on software so I never tried it.

You're welcome.

seycyrus

Putting in my two cents for Fantasy Grounds.

seycyrus

Putting in my two cents for Fantasy Grounds. Best VTT I've tried.

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys - I will try both when I get around to it. At present busy on the Coomunity atlas and my own world of Myirandios

Jay_NOLA

Fantasy Grounds is what I recommend. Only the GM needs to buy an ultimate license. The players don't need to buy anything. The different "purchase" options give additional rule sets and game hosting/joining options. If the GM has an Ultimate license the players just need a free one.

It does have a trial version. They run sales on it and the modules, etc. often.

The user community is very friendly and active.

Monsen

Of course, if you are planning to look into online gaming, the VTT software the rest of the group is using is going to be the deciding factor here, not your own preference (Unless you intend to start up your own online game)

Mateus090985

From where you got these incredible market tents symbols?

DaishoChikara

Beautiful maps, Lorelei! Thank you for sharing!

Can you tell me how you did the spider on the floor in the first sewer map?

Lorelei

Mateus - Those are from my own collection i've acquired over the years. Many of them are from a set i purchased a few years back from an artist, others are from the dundjinni archives and forum.

DaishoChikara, thank you. The spider is just a symbol on it's own sheet over the floor with a transparency of about 50%. I then created another sheet for the soft purple glow in the room by filling the room with a purple solid polygon and applying a transparency, edge fade inner and a slight blur on it.

kevbeck43

WOW! These look fantastic Lorelei. Especially the first one. That looks like Alyssa Faden City Streets. Is that the annual you used? That story is exciting too!