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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 20:59:28
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Out of curiosity, are there any places in the Realms where the villages and/or cities are built halfway up cliffs?
Failing that, are there any good places to put them?
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 21:16:27
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I vaguely remember there being a high security prison-temple to Ilmater carved out of a cliff...
EDIT: Aye, I found it.
I thought about the Cloister of St. Ramedar in Mount Adiir of the Star Spire mountain range that falls into the soutern Swordcoast, with its entry that's called the Chapel of the Whipping Winds built into the 700ft high cliffs of the Sea of Swords.
More can be found on page 142 of Powers and Pantheons. |
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Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
Edited by - Bladewind on 27 Feb 2011 21:29:46 |
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Halidan
Senior Scribe
USA
470 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 21:44:32
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I can't recall any cliff dwelling like the native americans used in parts of the southwest. The Realms does have an impressive fortress called the Citadel of the Ravens in the Dragonspine Mountains. Up to the 3.5/4.0 changes it was run by the Zhentarin. I'm nor sure who has it now, but one of the other sage will certainly know.
As for a likely location, I'd look for mountain ranges near the lands of primative/near primative people. Certainly the Spine of the World moauntains could work, as might the Tashalar Mountains near the jungles of Chult. Likewise, any of the mountains of Rashaman could have a fortress/village carved iunto the mountain as a precaution against the Red Wizards.
Those are my initial thoughts, I suspect the rest of the gang here will have many more. |
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Chosen of Asmodeus
Master of Realmslore
1221 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2011 : 22:08:42
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| My model for Many-Arrows has several dozen such settlements in it, considering the bulk of their territory is occupied by the Spine of the World. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 02:23:47
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There is/was a tribe in Maztica - the Azuposi - who live in pueblos. The text doesn't specify if any of them are true cliff-dwellers, though.
There are also the Maviddi who lived in anthill-like mounds in the east, in the lost Realm of Guge. Still not precisely what you are looking for.
One might assume that at least one tribe of Shaarans dwell in the cliffs along the Landrise, but that would be conjecture (besides, they are mostly nomadic). |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 02:32:54
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| Do the gold dwarves have vertical cities in the walls of the Great Rift? |
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Matt James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
918 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 03:40:35
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| Airspur! I believe I touched on it a bit in my Dungeon article, but I will have to go back and check when I get time. |
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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 05:07:37
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| I should probably mention that if your example is from 4e I will have no idea where it would be. |
Rants and reviews that interest no one may be found here. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7974 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 07:21:02
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| I'd think the dwarves would carve sophisticated stuff which more resembles Petra than a bunch of "primitive" American cliff dwellings. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2011 : 12:09:47
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Like in Tethyr (monasteries) and Amn (citadels) the Eastern Realms also have monasteries and forts, e.g. places like Ra-khati and Guge.
Thay builds settlements and defensive structures inside the plateau walls, called escarpments I think.
Not counting dwarves and other Underdark races and halflings, the Netherese that lived below the Wood of Sharp Teeth had houses in the pueblo style.
I think that Mulmaster was in part built from cliffs.
Aquatic races of Seros have a similar tradition, only with corals, for example the city in Yhaunn's bay, lost city of Atin, the Hmur plateau.
Or just move the city of Three Swords in the Shaar a bit.
The Sword Coast is ideal for such a place, it's too uninhabited and supposedly there are harbor issues. Or the High Moor, I wanted to place Kaer Maga from PF on the edge of the plateau there.
Not sure about Scardale. |
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Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2012 : 16:20:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
Do the gold dwarves have vertical cities in the walls of the Great Rift?
The dwarves more than likely have vertical cities, but the bulk would be within the cliff and only parts of it would 'stick out' of the cliff-face. The Great Rift Skyguards would need places to land and launch from.
I could imagine something like the place where Obi-Wan fought that droid-leader (can't think of the name) and where he rode a giant lizard-like creature. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2012 : 20:07:25
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When I imagine the Great Rift Dwarves of FR, I think of the Wildhammer Dwarves of WoW.
Their keep is built into the side of a mountain, with several 'windows' (areas where parts of the keep stick-out from the rock wall), and a Gryphon-launching balcony (Great Rift probably have lots of those).
As for the OP, some of the K-T Monks live in cave-complexes (holy sites), and a couple of those temples are ravines with bunches of caves openings. I would assume a few Western (FR) monks have similar setups, but I can't think of any canon ones.
Also, any of the Aeriee-descended races could be good candidates for cliff-dwellers. I think in 4e there is a large group of them (corbies? I forget) down in Veldorn, presumably in that mountain range (southern Giants Belt) |
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Edited by - Markustay on 29 Jan 2012 20:08:00 |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2012 : 20:12:41
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| Kenobi destroyed General Grievous on the planet Utapau. That would be a cool way to build a city, a ring of construction on each level etc. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2012 : 01:48:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
Kenobi destroyed General Grievous on the planet Utapau. That would be a cool way to build a city, a ring of construction on each level etc.
And you'll find a great deal of useful campaign-ideas for such a cliff-dwelling locale, here.
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Wolfhound75
Learned Scribe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2012 : 18:32:03
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Not to bring up Drizzt for those who don't care for him but in this instance it's necessary and even canon as it was located by a FR author. I forget which book as it's been a while since I read them but one of the later books in the now Legend of Drizzt series defines a realm similar to what the OP is describing in the small jut of hills that comes off the Spine of the World mountains SE of Auckney and NW of Luskan along the coastline.
If memory serves me correctly it was a mixed realm of ogres, half-ogres, and humans and was used as a base by Shiela Kree - the pirate that wound up with Wulfgar's hammer, Aegis Fang.
It had a cave similar to the one that 'One-Eyed Willie' from the movie Goonies sailed his ship into, many tunnels and rooms throughout the interior of the structure and balconies opening to its outside as well as a winding pathway that circled the structure and provided access to (many, several, some? of) the doors into the structure.
I don't know if this is cliff-dweller-style building in the sense of the Hopi or Anasazi pueblo-dwellers but it's the closest reference I can think of.
Good Hunting!
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2012 : 01:38:34
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| Nice! and I'll add that Menzo itself is partly built this way, as (was) Ched Nasad. Though most of the "City of Webs" was made from calcified webs, a goo portion of what survived was carved into the cliffs on either side, IIRC. In fact, I believe Q'arlynd Melarn was busy recovering items from the bottom of one of those cliffs at the beginning of the first Lady Penitant book. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2391 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2012 : 07:23:32
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| Also, both Avariel and Aarakocra qualify, they live on mountains. Aerie of the Snow Eagles is on the mountaintop, but it's a heavily enchanted glassteel habitat - others may be more concerned with winds. |
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coach
Senior Scribe
USA
479 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 00:42:13
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The Aerie of the Snow Eagles is an avariel population living in the Sossal area
it is located atop Mt Sundabar, and inside the glassteel fortress it is a jungle-like climate |
Bloodstone Lands Sage |
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coach
Senior Scribe
USA
479 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2012 : 00:43:26
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| also the Monastery of the Yellow Rose a mountain fortress in the Glacier of the White Worm |
Bloodstone Lands Sage |
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Cliff Dwellings in the Realms
