The World as We Know It

[Rex]

I like the dwarf as a last hold out as well. It makes sense, if the dwarven halls are connected to a underdark it would be a lot harder to clear out then an elven forest (burn it to the ground comes to mind).

[Marullus]

I love having the Dwarf Halls being a hold-out against something far worse.

I don't think we have to be down to "the last holdout" yet, though. We've described a lot of things so far and I kind of like having several options before the last siege, personally.

Places wholly Farquad
(Going there looking non-human without people to take us in is dangerous?)
- Capital City (Bustling Metropolis) [Clough]

Human-dominant
Perhaps uncomfortable for non-humans? Limited acceptance?
- Human Religious Bastion
- Busy Crossroads [Ganna the Witch]
- Remote Village [Tancred the Forsaken Ridder]
- Sorcerer's Tower (Sacked) [Rumple the Gnome, Haar the Halfling]

Non-human Dominant
Perhaps known locations, not yet sacked...
- Dwarf Halls
- Mountain Monestary of the Tree of Life (Druidic/Loremaster Religious Bastion)

Safe Haven Holdouts
Specifically hidden from Farquad at this time...
- Elf Lands (Elf-Only)
- Evanora's Dingle (homeless shelter for magical creatures) [Grimm the Dwarf]
- Mountain Caves (goblin home)

Does that cover it so far? What else? What edits?

[Enoch]

Remember that the Metropolis, Busy Crossroads, etc. are expected to be safe for you all. Making some or all of them primarily human-dominated dramatically escalates the difficulty of the game and risks breaking the rule of "the town is not the adventure".

There are plenty of towns in the land that are hostile (and effectively can't be used for the Town phase); I'd advise against making these hostile as well.

[drpete]

Well, we could....

A) distinguish between the capital and the metropolis. The prince rules his city, but the big port city at the end of the river is too big/ anarchic to be purged.

B) The metropolis is the capital, but it is simply too big and bustling to police. Keep a low profile, and even in the heart of the enemy, it's live and let live.

[Enoch]

I have no problem with the Metropolis being (from a mechanics sense as a place where you can safely rest) a portion of the capital. I just don't want to see you accidentally turn what's supposed to be a place to rest up into a place of danger!

[Rex]

Perhaps there is an underground resistance in the cities that we can use to keep safe.

[shroomofinsanity]

Also if things go south, we end up in some dungeon under the city, allowing an adventure phase, a la elder scrolls 4 oblivion intro. Where the goal is leaving the city via tunnels and sewers. And I feel as part of this game we should be slowly losing safe places, it adds a sense of impending doom and all that.

[Enoch]

Thematically, I totally agree. Mechanically, I'm thinking that the "safe spaces" themselves will probably remain unchanged...but getting to those safe spaces (including things like getting to that neighborhood in the capital) will get more and more perilous--unless you all do something about it.

[Marullus]

I am happy to have "safe places." You said that all places, even those where we'd fit in, can't sustain us for long. It is why we are grungy adventurers in the wild.

My main intention is to differentiate flavor and mood. There's a difference between:
* We're safe in the metropolis because they can't possibly police all the derelicts. But we might get spat on or confused for slaves, and we need to get on our way soon.
* We're safe in the busy crossroads and remote villiage because they're only nominally loyal. But people are nervous about getting caught (at best), and we need to get on our way soon.
* We're safe at the Dwarf Halls because we're allies in their impending battle, for they know Farquad will arrive soon. But they're suspicious and wary of traitors and spies; if we're not fully one of them we could be confused for an enemy and we need to get on our way soon.
* We're safe in Evanora's Dingle or the Elf Lands because they're the last hold-outs against Farquad. But people rely on the places being unfound and don't like vagabonds traipsing in and out, so we need to get on our way soon.

Are we all agreed on this list, at least, though?

- Capital City (Bustling Metropolis) [Clough]

- Human Religious Bastion
- Busy Crossroads [Ganna the Witch]
- Remote Village [Tancred the Forsaken Ridder]
- Sorcerer's Tower (Sacked) [Rumple the Gnome, Haar the Halfling]

- Dwarf Halls
- Mountain Monestary of the Tree of Life (Druidic/Loremaster Religious Bastion)

- Elf Lands (Elf-Only)
- Evanora's Dingle (homeless shelter for magical creatures) [Grimm the Dwarf]
- Mountain Caves (goblin home)

[BillTheGalacticHero]

I am happy to have "safe places." You said that all places, even those where we'd fit in, can't sustain us for long. It is why we are grungy adventurers in the wild.

My main intention is to differentiate flavor and mood. There's a difference between:

* We're safe in Evanora's Dingle or the Elf Lands because they're the last hold-outs against Farquad. But people rely on the places being unfound and don't like vagabonds traipsing in and out, so we need to get on our way soon.

Would that be a two-edged sword? The humans in the party being "outsiders" or "Farquad's spies" while in the non-human lands?

[Rex]

Looks fine to me.

[shroomofinsanity]

I also concur with these designations of how places are safe. Seems like a good baseline to have.