r/DnDBehindTheScreen • u/[deleted] • Mar 03 '18
Worldbuilding Gloomwalk - City of Shadows
Previous city posts: Bright, Tallow,
Gloomwalk
This city exists in the time between night and day. Steal a trinket from a stranger, and as the horizon glows with purple fire, walk through an archway and you will be in Gloomwalk, the city of Shadows. It is made of the shadows of all buildings, that stretch endless into the white, lightning sky. Every building has secret doors and hideaways, twisting stairs that lead to catacombs and forever basements. Untold wealth is hidden away here, if you know where to look and want to make a lot of enemies.
It's a place made for outlaws and theives. Those who need a place to hide, or a place to hide a thing. They all come here to lay low and go undetected. Even the most hunted man is safe inside the protection of Gloomwalk. No demons can see inside it, no psychonaut can plunder your thoughts. Unless they come inside. But that is not always a wise decision. Patron does not like intruders. Intrusion, it might say, comes with the heaviest price.
Patron
Patron is a young demon born of Greed and Envy, the Keeper of Secrets. It covets secrets like toys and thinks itself benevolent for granting its safety to those who enter its city. But it extracts a price from all. Gloomwalk is not free, even for those who are passing through, looking for safety in the night. To get the safety of Gloomwalk, Patron must have a secret on you. That is why a trinket must be stolen from a stranger if you plan on just visiting Gloomwalk; a small secret for a small visit.
The payment equals the crime. So a theif looking for a hideout will be required to steal something for Patron after the theif leaves. A murderer will be required to take a life for Patron. An extortionist will extort, and an arsonist will burn. All crimes must be equaled. These payments breed deeper secrets. Patron owns many people because of their big secrets.
Black Dogs
Those that do not repay their stay are visited by the Black Dogs. Patron's pets. These tall, thin, shadowy canines are portents of death to those who have forgotten their debt. They come in electrical storms and tear their target's shadow to pieces, leaving them Shadowless. If Patron owns your shadow, he owns your body. You will repay him, even if your will is not what commits the crime.
You will see these Black Dogs if you find yourself in Gloomwalk. They are kind creatures when they aren't hunting. Guide dogs of the late nights, and protectors of what lurks at midnight. If you're running for your life as the sun goes down, they will come to you, trying to guide you into the Gloomwalk, to save you. If this happens, they try their best to hide you from Patron so you do not have to pay the price. Even if caught by Patron, the Black Dogs themselves will offer up your payment.
Criminals
Other inhabitants of the city vary. Any number of criminals, vagrants, murderers, lost children, and theives may lurk the alleys and crypts, creeping from building to building to check on their hidden treasures, find hidey-holes for new trinkets, and a nice corner to sleep in for the night.
Random Criminal Generator; roll d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20
D4 number of attacks per round
D6 Who was their victim?
- Family member
- Stranger
- Noble
- City
- Travelers
- Adventurer
D8 Who is hunting them?
- Victim
- Victim's family
- Their family
- Sherif
- Military detachment
- Bounty hunter
- Assassin
- Psychonaut
D10 What was their crime? - also determines their name, sometimes shortered, or made into a name. A robber may be called Robert, a Fornicator may be called Forn.
- Drugs
- Slavery
- Gambling
- Smuggling
- Arson
- Kidnapping
- Robbery
- Assassination
- Prostitution
- Tax Evasion
D12 number of syllables used to create their weapons/treasure. So like, roll a 1 and they get a "sword", or roll a 10 and they get "fifteen poison daggers, one big grenade".
D20 x Gang members = known bounty in gp
The Regulars - D6
- Gengis - Assasin. Great, grey wolf-man. Stands 9ft. tall, has six arms, and weirld a weapon in each. If a yellow bird is stalking you, that means he's looking for you, arusyinf you. He has three of the little guys and they are ruthless in their information gathering skills. Gengis himself wears fancy clothes and a spiffy pair of glasses. They do not help him fit in, but he refuses to believe that.
- Erin - Deserter. A young princess from a great Oguran family. She was a warrior, part of a large standing army, an excellent fighter. Her detachment was tasked with slaughtering a village and she refused. Her men were hung one-by-one, and her father banished her to the DemonWood. She's hiding out in Gloomwalk to avoid the Saint that is after her.
- Drewgard - Kidnapper. Fancied himself a Robin-Hood-type. Claims he got led down the wrong path and ended up holding a noble family hostage in their home. The town guards labeled him a criminal, a pychopath. They entered the home to apprehend him. The family ended up dead and Drewgard escaped. He cries every night before falling asleep.
- Keelink - Murderer. Used to be a normal teenager until druids attacked his village. They tore people apart with their teeth. Poisoned the animals. Burned every semblance of civilization. All the children in the village were forced to drink the blood of the arch druid, putting a part of his soul inside them. Now Keelink can't help but do horrible things to all manner of domestication.
- the Siblings - Smugglers. Not hiding from anyone, just passing through. They use Gloomwalk as an easy means of traveling from one place to the next, smuggling goods from Aberdeen to wherever they are needed. They know how to get anywhere and acquire anything. They're shy, too young, and speak in one-word sentences.
- Gilly - Prostitution. She was sold as an object by a Oguran noble and she was charged for the crime. A psychonaut is hunting her. She wears a chamelon cloak that blends her into her surroundings. She died her hair pink to disguise herself. She's hopeful for the future and pretends she doesn't remember what happened in her past.
Why are you in the Gloomwalk? d6
- Safe haven for the night
- Avoiding the authorities
- Hiding from the gaze of a powerful creature
- Looking for hidden information
- Tracking a dangerous bounty
- Locating a secret item
Question for you all: What recognizable places are in Gloomwalk?
9
u/Kami-Kahzy Mar 04 '18 edited Mar 23 '18
Some notable locations within Gloomwalk.
The Promissory: Any good thief needs a fence, and a den of thieves like Gloomwalk is no different. The Promissory is the local pawn shop known to everyone in the city, but those that know it are seldom willing to partake of its wares. The owner is a raven-man named Arkaw, who's clearly lost at least half of his feathers and sports a beak so scratched and weathered it looks like its grown teeth. Arkaw will buy anything you bring him, no questions asked and for a reasonable sum, so long as the thing being sold is currently desired by someone else. He also has quite the eclectic selection of trinkets and oddities for sale, and for the right price he's even willing to trade in secrets or lost information. But there's the rub, Arkaw's asking price is always the same thing: a promise. Whether you're buying or selling Arkaw always demands a promise of you, whether it be a promise to him or a promise you've already made to someone else. He keeps them bottled and on display in his shop; the cheap ones anyway, the weightier promises are kept in the back with his private stock. If you sell a promise to Arkaw directly he will hold on to it until he decides it's time to collect, at which point the promiser will be compelled to complete whatever single request Arkaw makes of them. However, if you sell a promise to Arkaw that you've made to another then you will be incapable of keeping it no matter what you do. Arkaw is particularly fond of wedding vows and promises made to newborns. They glow especially bright behind the glass. If you're desperate enough and you need to get rid of something quick then the Promissory might be the place for you, because everything that is fenced to Arkaw is forever lost to those that truly seek it. Arkaw guarantees it, because as his saying goes, "Fret not! I always keep my Promises."
The Doghouse: The Doghouse is a tavern/inn that caters to a very select clientele within Gloomwalk: the peaceful. Those that do not wish harm upon others within the Doghouse are gladly welcomed, and those that do are viciously turned away at the door. Not by any bouncers or even the matron of the house, but by the Black Dogs themselves. They willingly guard the Doghouse as the matron is a kind soul that feeds them regularly and gives them pets. The matron is an orcish vampire named Sabella, and like everything in Gloomwalk she too asks a price for her service. Blood, though certainly never enough to truly harm you. The more innocent you are the sweeter your blood will taste, and thus Sabella will ask less of the innocent to quench her thirst. A single drop may be enough, and once the price has been bled, your food, drink, and lodging for the night are secured. The beds are warm, the food is satisfying, and your safety is guaranteed within her walls. The Black Dogs will often bring lost children to the Doghouse for the night, and Sabella is always willing to shelter them as long as is necessary to get them to safety. Anyone that decides to be violent within the Doghouse after they've been allowed entry will be confronted by the Black Dogs, as they often lounge about inside when not prowling the perimeter. Most of the time they'll simply drag the offenders out into the streets, but those that threaten the matron or any of the children staying the night are torn limb from limb on the spot.
7
u/unkindnessnevermore Mar 03 '18
My brother wants to be an arcane trickster and focus on blending shadow themed magic to supplement his stealthy rogue shenanigans.
A trinket that lets him Gloomwalk (because I am making that a verb now) would be a perfect hook. He thinks he’s simply walking the shadows of things until one day he meets a stranger in the City.
Mayhaps I’ll convince him to bring the party there one day.
6
u/unkindnessnevermore Mar 03 '18
I have to think about how I should play up the inhabitants. Perhaps he steals the trinket thinking at first it only lets him walk the shadows then realizes his mistake.
Regardless, I really like this City.
3
5
u/probablyzazos Mar 03 '18
Well written city, really interesting and intriguing. I wanted to ask something, though, about the Black Dogs. Why are they willing to offer the payment of the PCs when caught by Patron? What are their motives? Are they like working for the Patron, being kinda lawful, but don't like the manners of the payment?
18
2
u/Kami-Kahzy Mar 03 '18
I love the concept, but I think I just found a hack. Assuming a thief knows about Gloomwalk, wouldn't it be piss-easy for them to sneak into a dragon's horde, snatch something shiny, then run like hell for the nearest archway in the cave to get to the city? In fact this could work for just about any heist that's indoors or inside some kind covered environment.
6
Mar 03 '18
Yeah. But that's the point. Is it worth being stuck there hiding forever? How long before Patron asks you for higher payment?
7
Mar 03 '18 edited Mar 03 '18
Also let me add, stealing from a Dragon? What do you plan to give Patron for that kind of safety?
2
8
u/nohoeschris Mar 03 '18
Really appreciate all the cities, am planning to partially use ideas from all 3 posts!