Friday, August 11, 2006

Location: Onuago Wharf District

The Wharf District is situated on the east side of the west split of Onuago, along the waterfront. It was once a bustling port of ten warehouses, but now it is eerily deserted.
This salty run of docks has fallen into disrepair. Dilapidated shacks and weathered warehouses give way to creaky planks along an industrial boardwalk that juts out over the bay itself. Piles of sandbags, now mudbags, provide a makeshift levee that wavers against the waves. The air is uncomfortably still, and the sound of cats skirmishing echoes down the alleyways. The sky is overcast and a light drizzle plops into the pools in the building stoops.
As the characters make their way through the streets of the wharf district, point out the rustiness of the gutters and boarded up buildings and bring particular attention to the growling cats on rooftops. There is a distinct uneasiness in town, especially along the waterfront. The misty fog reduces visibility to 30', allowing creatures and thieves to sneak up on the party.


The map above faces east. Key locations within the Wharf District include:

I - Snug Harbor Inn (description in another post, encounter in another)
C - Old Captain Thorenson's House
W - Warehouses
R - Rowhomes
t - Places where thieves are likely to accost the party

Old Captain Thorenson's House (C)

As the characters approach the house, read or paraphrase the following:
A strand of smoke rises out of a the chimney of a lone hovel, set off the road, partially hidden by a row of connected homes. Three cats patrol the grassy yard, the only patch of green in this part of town. A flowerbox decorates the single window, set off to the left of the front door, painted blue.
Thorenson will answer the door if the party knocks. He will not have time for any haughty behavior, and he has many stories to tell.

Warehouses (W)

In one of the warehouses, surprise the party with three to four Koa-Toans, freshly visiting from the marshy bay for their daily catch. They are hungry and attack without pause or end; they fight until they are slaughtered.

Rowhomes (R)

The most common domicile in Onuago is a rowhome. Almost all the homes in the city itself share walls with other homes.

Thieves (t)

Thieves patrol the darker and more remote alleys of the wharf district. If the characters stray too far from the roads with foot traffic, they will likely be jumped by a band of two to three third level thieves. If they capture one, the thieves have a one in three chance of being an expatriate of Baron von Steiglitz' militia, and are either fending for themselves or are part of one of the factions that now claim von Steiglitz' lands. If the latter, they will demand a tariff or entrance fee of the party when they are first encountered, and will threaten the party in the name of their faction leader, Petry Pokrm the Dish-eater.

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