#gorodzuba

[ttrpgtreacle]

A dropped plotline in Zhuttsgraad was the underclass of Ogre that were coaxed from the hills for manual labor. The ogres were banding themselves around a brotherhood based around Everart Claire like ringleader.

The players were originally going to have to deal with them to help get in Gorodzuba. Cut because it wouldn't have been a great use of time.

[ttrpgtreacle]

The Puzzle of Two Degrees Tom. This one was a flop. Total flop. The four quadrants represent separate letter palettes the party would have to select to spell out MAMA, the name of the leader of the Clean Knives gang. The difficulty comes with the fact that there's very little immediate feedback, and it had been so long since they dealt with the Clean Knives gang that they had kind of forgotten about Mama. So it goes.

[ttrpgtreacle]

Many years later, as he bled out alone within the forgotten recesses of the Gorodzuba municipal system, Two Degrees Tom was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

Haha, just kidding folks. In reality, Two Degrees Tom was not an especially troubled member of a large family cursed to a cavalcade of magical and sometimes salacious events, broadly reflecting the troubled development of South America. He's actually a crocodile employed/owned by the the Clean Knives gang, feeding off the prisoners they deign to throw his way as a method 'cleaning up the trash.'

The players did kill Two Bit Tom. A truly unique creature in the world, perhaps the like of which will never be seen again. Well, they're Sky Pirates, not Sky Conservationists.

[ttrpgtreacle]

The Lair of Two Degrees Tom is a small enclosed cistern in the undercity of Gorodzuba where the Clean Knives gang keeps one of their waste disposal systems, a large esoterically unique crocodile called Two Degrees Tom. Two Degrees Tom is fed a sporadic diet of miscreants, traitors, and authority figures.

[ttrpgtreacle]

Used in a Valve style steam pipe puzzle on the cliff pump facility.

Art-wise, this works but man is it rough. But, be honest: you can't even tell I haven't discovered brush stabilization yet. Jokes aside, Why I didn't use the circle tool!?

[ttrpgtreacle]

This map was a test of two different things, one is mechanical related to the map, and one is sitrep related. This map was a test of verticality, featuring walls with top/bottom heights, stairs that automatically adjust token height, and tiles placed at certain heights using Foundry's wall height module. The main thing this experiment convinced me is that it would be difficult to implement it at a larger scale: Maneuvering between different heights was awkward as the GM, and I was left with questions as to how I would keep track of situations with players on different layers. Also, it became clear that the art would need a new pass -- players didn't even realize the building was two stories. (Some sort of drop shadow would probably necessary)

Sitrep-wise, I think this map was a lot of fun. The players are woken up by an npc and told the secret police (the Zhuttskulak) are planning an ambush, and the best way to move would be to escape to the undercity using the well system. However, there are two wells on the map: the left well is more obscured, but the sight lines are a lot tighter. The right way is more straightforward and closer, but it's the obvious ambush direction. Being one step ahead of the Zhuttskulak means that they can have more resources and personnel than the players and still be out-manuvered as they are less flexible to change from their original strategy. And if the battle takes too long you can start depositing tallboys.

Another part of setting of this sitrep is making the players have a way of planning their route, even if they can't see the map. Therefore I had the npc who initiated the sitrep (Stasya) hand them a handdrawn map.

CW: instant telefragging of domestic animal

Yo everyone, this map featured the use of an all time great Alik Aliksvich prank item: scroll of teleport to nearest dog. A player in a dire moment needed to escape, and used the magic item sourced from the unreliable merchant to escape, disappearing in a puff of smoke and emerging in a nearby home, surrounded by fur and legs.

[ttrpgtreacle]

Gorodzuba is the town the players went to after their sojourn through the shattered archipelago. It is the home of the parents of Alcinia the lodestone merchant. It is also a place of strife: rapid industrialization has beckoned forth many of the hill giants that made the mountains their home; untrusted but necessary, their homes are restricted to the muddy districts near the dock, where the filth from sky whale processing chokes the streets, and the smell is inescapable. This industrialization was bankrolled by the struggling bourgeoisie, but they have yet to see significant returns; the products they make are licensed from Venercian merchants, who are unwilling to grant their entire process, leaving Zhuttsgraad with second order work -- forming of raw materials for basic purposes. It is Zhuttsgraad's center for tall boys, though they are already out of date compared to Venercian automechs. As indicated earlier, Gorodzuba is also a regional hub for nooceti processing.

Here's a version with out labels:

Here's a secondary view, showing the prototypes for some of the buildings/airships