| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
dwarvenranger
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 01:22:43
|
Well met,
I'm looking for the locations of any known portals from Faerun to Maztica. I am unable to find any listed, however it would just seem to make sense that some government or noble family, either in Amn, Baldur's Gate, or Waterdeep would have set up a two way portal to marginalize the risk inherent in importing items from Maztica. If no sages know of any portals, I am curious about your thoughts as to why there are none, given the obvious benefits. As always I appreciate your responses
|
If I waited till I knew what I was doing, I'd never get anything done.
|
|
|
scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 07:02:31
|
quote:
Originally posted by dwarvenranger
Well met,
I'm looking for the locations of any known portals from Faerun to Maztica. I am unable to find any listed, however it would just seem to make sense that some government or noble family, either in Amn, Baldur's Gate, or Waterdeep would have set up a two way portal to marginalize the risk inherent in importing items from Maztica. If no sages know of any portals, I am curious about your thoughts as to why there are none, given the obvious benefits. As always I appreciate your responses
Maztica was 2E, while portals became very popular, or at least more popular, with 3E. I feel that Maztica fell by the wayside, as far as realms lore goes these days. I would make my own up. Waterdeep and it's surrounding areas would be a good choice. It's been a while since reading the trilogy, where were the explorers from? that would make the most sence to locate a portal, easy acess to the gold :) |
 |
|
|
Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 07:19:58
|
| the explorers that found Maztica was an Amnish Caraval ... as far as i offhand remember the only that colonised the area is Amnish Helmites (with their semi heretic opinions about slaves and such) and some Waterdhavians |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
Edited by - Sian on 18 Dec 2006 07:20:26 |
|
|
|
Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 08:20:15
|
| And Baldur's Gate, specifically the Flaming Fist. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
|
|
|
WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 14:10:32
|
Probably there is no published portal to Maztica, for a number of reasons.
I. Rules for crafting portals did not appear until 3E, long after
___Maztica had fallen to disuse. 2E sources seem to infer that most
___portals are ancient, and the secrets of their making largely lost
___(not unlike artifacts).
________A. Only various Chosen seemed to have the ability to craft
___________portals, and to my knowledge, none of them had shown
___________interest in Maztica.
II. Maztica was unknown to the inhabitants of Faerun until very
____recent historic events. Ergo, any portal to Maztica would be of
____very recent construction.
III. The cost of creating a portal, as listed in the FRCS and MoF,
_____is prohibitive to say the least. IMHO, even a state (Amn)
_____would think twice before commiting to the construction of one,
_____much less a city-state (Baldur's Gate, and Waterdeep).
_____A. Especially since such funds would have to be diverted
________from more pressing matters:
__________1. Amn- The Sothsillian War,
__________2. Waterdeep- Shade/Phaerrim conflict.
IV. As states would be incapable or unwilling to do this, it would
_____fall to Merchant Consortiums. A Merchant Consortium would
_____undoutedly want their portal to be secret, which infers a few
_____characteristics of that portal.
______A. Inaccessibility
__________1. Merchants would be inclined to build such a portal
_____________in a place where they were access was inherently limited
_____________while not drawing undue attention to that place.
_____________Examples might include:
_______________i. The basement of a high security warehouse
_______________ii. A secret room in a villa
_______________iii. A hidey-hole safe house in the wild
_____B. Light Traffic
___________1. If noticeable quantities of Maztican commodities begin
______________regularly entering the market without shipments coming
______________in from overseas, several parties will become
______________interested compromising the security of the portal.
_______________i. The Government (where's our taxes?)
_______________ii. Rivals (how the heck are they doing that? Get
_____________________some spies and assassains on it!)
_______________iii. Thieves (Holy Crap! Where's it all coming from!
_____________________We've GOT to find it so that we can steal it!)
___________2. Thus, such a portal would probably be used in the
______________following limited ways:
_______________i. Contract negotiation.
_______________ii. Inspection of overseas inventory
_______________iii. Vacation
_______________iv. Transport of very small but valuable items
_______________v. A means of escape
_____C. Given these limitations, it is difficult to see why Merchants
________would make such a vast investment. Especially when
________considering that before any of that, they would have to find
________a reasonably powerful wizard that they could trust
________implicitly, or be able to kill quickly after he had
________completed his work. |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
Edited by - WalkerNinja on 18 Dec 2006 14:23:25 |
|
|
|
WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 14:12:36
|
| sorry about all of those lines... it was the only way to get my spacing to show up... BTW, yes, I'm out of school for the winter and have a little more time on my hands... heheheh |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
Edited by - WalkerNinja on 18 Dec 2006 14:24:50 |
|
|
|
dwarvenranger
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 15:24:47
|
| Thanks for the responses, much food for thought. WN, you better have thought up something good in your month hiatus. |
If I waited till I knew what I was doing, I'd never get anything done.
|
|
|
|
Korginard
Learned Scribe
USA
126 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 15:31:34
|
I agree that such a portal can't be as easy as it may seem. If it were truely that easy, why have the Zhentarim wasted so many resources looking for alternate trade routes? If they could bypass obsticles so easily they surely would have.
The cost has been mentioned, but beyond constuction there is the cost of defending and maintaining control of the portal. Owning such a lucrative portal would mean a constant and endless stream of attacks from all who seek to control both ends of the Portal.
That being said, the notion has struck me as a wonderful opportunity for an extended campaign.
The party is hired by a wealthy merchant consortium or noble family in Waterdeep to protect a construction team setting out for the fabled lands of Maztica. The party may or may not be told of the ultimate goal, as the portal project is being kept as secret as possible. The construction team is made up of a number of engineers, and a specialist, the portal mage. The party need not even know this individual is a mage, perhaps they are simply introduced as the master achitect and sage consultant.
The party's task starts out simple: Escort and protect the exbedition. Unfortuneatly this is complicated by freak storms, accidents (some sabotage some not), and attacks ranging from monsters to pirates to organized assaults. The exbedition comes under attack by such wide ranging forces as the Shadow Thieves of Amn (working thru pirates), the Xanathar thieves guild (Working thru spies and agents in the ship crews) and even bold attacks from ships flying the colors of Amn and Thay! They also find a Harper Agent or two amoung the crew who are responsible for acts of sabotage meant to slow and harass the exbeidition and convince them to turn back (The Harpers oppose the exploitation of Maztica)
After a long and dangerous journey they arrive in Maztica, at the DM's choice they can either land in an established colony port or become shipwrecked in the wilds of an unknown land.
The campain now shifts gears away from an ocean voyage and concentrates on Maztica. Depending on where they landed the party may have to salvage what they can and escort the survivors to the nearest colony (or a farther one if the nearest is hostile). They can run into all sorts of trouble along the way.
Once they arrive at thier destination, the campaign shifts again. All the materials needed to create the portal were lost durring the journey, so the players must now seek suitable replacements. They are sent questing near and far to gather what is needed.
The final stages of portal construction should be a chaotic blitz as opposing forces send all manner of attacks against the colony, seeking to destroy the portal before it can become active, or gain control of it.
Even after the portal is built the campaign need not end. Now comes the time to defend the settlement the new portal is built in. For thier efforts the party members can be awarded estates and lands in Maztica, and can become Lords in thier new colony. Perhaps the merchant power behind thier exbedition wants them to travel further into Maztica and establish new colonies. It would fall to them to defend and govern these new colonies.
By the way.. who ARE these merchants or Nobles who hired them, and what are thier motives? Has the party helped to set up legitimate trade, or have they actually set the portal up for a rival power. One interesting twist would be to have them represent Thay, with the other end of the newly built portal set up in the Waterdeep Enclave. Why the attacks from Thayvians then? Subterfuge, or perhaps the work of rivals within Thay. What does the party do now? Do they care who controls the portal? Will they do anything about it? Perhaps they'll take ownership of the portal to enrich themselves, but then that means dealing with whoever controls the other end of the Portal...
Sounds like a nice long term campain to me! |
|
|
|
dwarvenranger
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 15:42:18
|
quote:
Originally posted by Korginard
I agree that such a portal can't be as easy as it may seem. If it were truely that easy, why have the Zhentarim wasted so many resources looking for alternate trade routes? If they could bypass obsticles so easily they surely would have.
The cost has been mentioned, but beyond constuction there is the cost of defending and maintaining control of the portal. Owning such a lucrative portal would mean a constant and endless stream of attacks from all who seek to control both ends of the Portal.
That being said, the notion has struck me as a wonderful opportunity for an extended campaign.
The party is hired by a wealthy merchant consortium or noble family in Waterdeep to protect a construction team setting out for the fabled lands of Maztica. The party may or may not be told of the ultimate goal, as the portal project is being kept as secret as possible. The construction team is made up of a number of engineers, and a specialist, the portal mage. The party need not even know this individual is a mage, perhaps they are simply introduced as the master achitect and sage consultant.
The party's task starts out simple: Escort and protect the exbedition. Unfortuneatly this is complicated by freak storms, accidents (some sabotage some not), and attacks ranging from monsters to pirates to organized assaults. The exbedition comes under attack by such wide ranging forces as the Shadow Thieves of Amn (working thru pirates), the Xanathar thieves guild (Working thru spies and agents in the ship crews) and even bold attacks from ships flying the colors of Amn and Thay! They also find a Harper Agent or two amoung the crew who are responsible for acts of sabotage meant to slow and harass the exbeidition and convince them to turn back (The Harpers oppose the exploitation of Maztica)
After a long and dangerous journey they arrive in Maztica, at the DM's choice they can either land in an established colony port or become shipwrecked in the wilds of an unknown land.
The campain now shifts gears away from an ocean voyage and concentrates on Maztica. Depending on where they landed the party may have to salvage what they can and escort the survivors to the nearest colony (or a farther one if the nearest is hostile). They can run into all sorts of trouble along the way.
Once they arrive at thier destination, the campaign shifts again. All the materials needed to create the portal were lost durring the journey, so the players must now seek suitable replacements. They are sent questing near and far to gather what is needed.
The final stages of portal construction should be a chaotic blitz as opposing forces send all manner of attacks against the colony, seeking to destroy the portal before it can become active, or gain control of it.
Even after the portal is built the campaign need not end. Now comes the time to defend the settlement the new portal is built in. For thier efforts the party members can be awarded estates and lands in Maztica, and can become Lords in thier new colony. Perhaps the merchant power behind thier exbedition wants them to travel further into Maztica and establish new colonies. It would fall to them to defend and govern these new colonies.
By the way.. who ARE these merchants or Nobles who hired them, and what are thier motives? Has the party helped to set up legitimate trade, or have they actually set the portal up for a rival power. One interesting twist would be to have them represent Thay, with the other end of the newly built portal set up in the Waterdeep Enclave. Why the attacks from Thayvians then? Subterfuge, or perhaps the work of rivals within Thay. What does the party do now? Do they care who controls the portal? Will they do anything about it? Perhaps they'll take ownership of the portal to enrich themselves, but then that means dealing with whoever controls the other end of the Portal...
Sounds like a nice long term campain to me!
That's why I asked, but I have to get it done in six sessions because the fellow who's playing the youngest son of the Brokengulf family is tranfering to Guam, and the adventure is about his family's ties to Maztica. So I don't know if I have enough time to do it right. |
If I waited till I knew what I was doing, I'd never get anything done.
|
|
|
|
WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
573 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 15:49:41
|
quote:
Originally posted by dwarvenranger
That's why I asked, but I have to get it done in six sessions because the fellow who's playing the youngest son of the Brokengulf family is tranfering to Guam, and the adventure is about his family's ties to Maztica. So I don't know if I have enough time to do it right.
Perhaps... Lord Brokengulf is looking into creating a portal to Maztica and is investigating the possibilities of investment by the other families. Before he can move on it, he has to secure the Maztica end in order to inspire confidence in his investors. To this end, Young Brokengulf is charged with assembling a band of stout hearts (not halflings... adventurers) and survey the Maztican continent in order to find a optimal location for such a portal. Lengthy transport is bypassed by a teleport spell (purchased from the Watchful Order). |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
|
|
|
dwarvenranger
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 15:56:07
|
| Hmmm, doable especially since the young Brokengulf (Clr 3, Lathander) already has a party full of adventurers in his debt, assuming they make it out of Undermountain of course. Thanks WN. |
If I waited till I knew what I was doing, I'd never get anything done.
|
|
|
|
Korginard
Learned Scribe
USA
126 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 16:14:44
|
Well, the departing player's character could be removed at some point, allowing the rest of the party to continue on. Perhaps he's called back to Waterdeep.
If they player is willing perhaps you could correspond with him occasionaly, and have the rest of the party take turns writting up "Letters Home" to thier distant friend. This keeps him somewhat involved and updates him on what's happening, and allows the rest of the party some fun as well. |
|
|
|
ShadowJack
Senior Scribe
USA
350 Posts |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 19:19:16
|
I have always wanted to do a portal to Maztica scenario. My premise was that a mage found the Maztican continent several hundred years ago when a teleport spell went hay-wire do to a rival's interference. It tossed the mage onto Maztica where he gained some followers built a remote (very)tower and started working on a way back to Faerun. He achieved his goal and linked a portal back to his tower in Maztica. Said Mage dies in a spell duel some years later, his tower is guarded by wards. When the characters break into his Faerun tower they find the gate to Maztica. Or...
A remote colony of wild elves lives somewhere north of New Waterdeep, they have a portal to the Elven Court or Evermeet...
It is also possible that the Fey Crossroads and backroads can take a party to Maztica... |
ShadowJack |
|
|
|
AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2006 : 19:07:29
|
Not that it's not possible, the wild elves that live north of New Waterdeep are a xenophobic bunch, all attempts to communicate with them have failed, even by other elves.
The likelyhood they would have a portal to the Elven Court seems to be small.
Unless it was an extreamly old one that fell out of use.
Perhaps one in Ardeep Forest perhaps.
|
|
|
|
ShadowJack
Senior Scribe
USA
350 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2006 : 20:16:28
|
AlacLuin,
I can not recall where the info on those Wild Elves is to be found, do you remember? I like the idea of the portal being an unused one, especially with its Faerun side being in the Ardeep under the protection of that old guardian mentioned in Forsaken House, what was his name? |
ShadowJack |
|
|
|
AlacLuin
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2006 : 00:32:05
|
Well, the wild elves are not mentioned in the Maztican boxed set, but they are mentioned in Lands of Intrigue IIRC and they have a better mention Gold and Glory (in published Realms, these elves were the ones that slaughtered Baulderan's expedition).
There really is little said about them, and I don't even think there is a name for their tribe.
One can infer as much from the one picture of them that was on the map from the Maztica boxed set as you can from everything written about them.
The picture looked like a real world “Mohawk” with pointy ears.
There are friendly elves further west, the Poscadar detailed in "City of Gold", but they are on the other side of a mountain range .
The Poscadar migrated from even further north (perhaps due to the Sundering) it would be unlikely they would have any portals to Faerun.
|
Edited by - AlacLuin on 21 Dec 2006 00:52:24 |
|
|
|
dwarvenranger
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2006 : 02:00:54
|
| Thanks Shadowjack and Alacluin. That's the kind of info I was hoping to get. |
If I waited till I knew what I was doing, I'd never get anything done.
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Portals to Maztica
