Cold Land Progress Screens

[indio]

I'm working with coach on the Cold Lands...I've built 9 exteriors in YATT (if you knew how easy that is it wouldn't sound nearly so impressive) and will do the next 9 tomorrow.

coach wants a wall complex 40 feet wide with a covered ceiling and multiple levels. The multiple levels will be tricky beyond the ramps and balconies, but here's a rough sketch of how I think I'll approach it.

Is this the idea coach?

[danielmn]

Coach/Indio...that's actually quite a nice idea....I really like the look of the wall and how it is forming. that is actually very exciting to see!

[darrenhfx]

Now that looks promising. With Coach as the ultimate expert on the matter I will add my lesser opinion and suggest that as the wall was constructed with the aid of dwarven engineers, the floor would likely be made of shaped stone and level. Equally, the roofing would likely be stone as well, although I can't recall if a stone ceiling placeable exists. Minor changes that could be made after you finish up depending on your timeline for completion. That's an excellent start however and I look forward to seeing what you do with the mountains. Bring on the snow!

I picture the Vassan Gate as a busy corridor of merchants, soldiers and adventurers, the first bastion of safety after returning from adventure in the mountains or after crossing the harsh tundra of Vaasa. A slight haze of smoke in the air... the smells of food and animals and alehouses... the sounds of commerce, of soldiers, of laughter. A good place to start an adventuring career.

[indio]

Very helpful. Thanks.

[JaydeMoon]

So, theoretically, a Tiefling could totally walk inside there and also on the top of the wall?

Or would you have to create a tiefling specific walkmesh? Would that increase your workload significantly, Indio?

Or, if you prefer:

I like that concept!

[coach]

here is what i have on Vaasan Gate canon (see below)

notice there are conflicting sizes ... RA Salvatore is the author of both sources, one a novel and one a sourcebook

in the novels it mentions walking on the roof of the gate looking out over the badlands of Vaasa, but like darren said above, but i don't know if you can pull that off walking to the Pass side and the Vaasa side of the roof on placeables

i also get the sense when reading the novels that it has 4 or 5 levels, being as though the books main character took a chapter-long journey through the "myriad of corridors, stairways, ladder alcoves, and empty rooms" to the roof above ... although easier said than built with NWN2 toolset i'd imagine LOL

and a few mentions of it being dark stone and dark brick, FWIW

although it would seem to HAVE to have one main corridor running the length which you have started to represent here

looks like a good start to me

Vaasan Gate [population 500 soldiers] (FRCS p107) (FR9 p7,14,39) (H3 p10) (PotWK p28-30,33-34,39,43-44,53-55,105-106,111-112) (Rite p6) (GTotR p116) (RotP p168)
i. Seals off Bloodstone Pass from Vaasa (FR9 p39) (PotWK p34,44)
ii. Half-mile wide, 60 feet high, 30 feet thick, the top of the wall from mountain to mountain is filled with heavy weaponry (FR9 p39) 20 feet to 40 feet wide, 50 feet tall (PotWK p112)
iii. Only one entrance is in the fortress built on the western end, great portcullis (FR9 p39) (PotWK p33) width of entrance gate is wide enough for four horsemen riding abreast or ten men walking side by side (RotP p168)
iv. Provides a place for trade for miners and farmers from Vaasa and Bloodstone Pass and the East Galenas (FR9 p39)
v. A fifteen mile long tunnel connects Vaasan Gate to Hillsafar Hall (FR9 p39)
vi. Adventurers use Vaasan Gate as an embarking point for their travels and a sanctuary to rest and heal up (FR9 p39-40)
vii. Food, supplies, shelter, and equipment is provided to these adventurers at low or no cost (FR9 p39)
viii. Bounties are offered on the ears of certain creatures: Giant 200gp, Bugbear 15gp, Orc 6gp, Gnoll 8gp, Hobgoblin 8gp, Ogre 20gp, Goblin 5gp (FRCS p107,111) (FR9 p14,40 [prices have since doubled from FR9]) …bounties for other monsters or valuable information are negotiable (FR9 p40) … bounty for Dragon head ? (FR9 p64)
ix. Ironhead’s Tavern (PotWK p29)
x. Bulletin Board outside Ironhead’s with annual running tally of bounties collected by bounty hunters at the Vaasan Gate in order from highest down (PotWK p30)
xi. Muddy Boots and Bloody Blades [tavern] (PotWK p29,54)
xii. Tight, well-constructed, dark brick corridors (PotWK p53)
xiii. Many establishments, taverns, craftsmen, hostels, gambling houses, and suppliers in the Vaasan Gate (PotWK p54) all very well guarded and secure (PotWK p55)
xiv. Illegal to draw weapons inside Vaasan Gate (PotWK p55)
xv. Bounty Room [where monster ears are exchanged] (PotWK p105)
xvi. Vaasan Gate wall complex has myriad of corridors, stairways, ladder alcoves, and empty rooms (PotWK p105,111)
xvii. Training rooms with archery targets and practice dummies (PotWK p106)
xviii. Several towers run the length of the wall (PotWK p112)
xix. Weird Wingham sells magical and exotic weapons and foreign goods out of a store in the Vaasan Gate in the winter (FR9 p61)

[indio]

What I'll do then is compile a few building ideas for the wall complex for you to extrapolate upon once I'm done mapping out its foundations. The above description is very useful, but I'd say you clearly have a much stronger grasp of how you will want it to function than I. So I'll put together a few ideas in the toolset as part of the overall build and you can expand upon whichever of them you like from there.

I'm doing some minor interior touch-ups for ayergo who has kindly accepted my offer of help, and I'm still getting my head around how to help Thangorn, so I should be done with everything in about 2 weeks. I'll post screens as I go so you can keep me heading in the right direction. Clearly what's of interest, for Jayde at least, is the capacity to walk both above and below the wall. That will be tricky given the very stubborn walkmesh of the tower set. But dark stone is easy as they are tintable.

[coach]

okay, sounds good

i guess i am thinking on the descriptions of the Vaasan Gate is kinda like what a multi-level mall (with a skinnier main corridor) would look like on inside

now whether the NWN2 toolset is capable of that or not is the key of course

sorry if i am sounding too nitpicky , and on the rest of the Pass I won't be, it is just that this will be the main adventure launch point of the server

thanks again for taking this on

[indio]

i guess i am thinking on the descriptions of the Vaasan Gate is kinda like what a multi-level mall (with a skinnier main corridor) would look like on inside

Got it.

[coach]

been working on a complete list of Vaasan Gate shops/temples/inns/etc

and then putting them in graph-paper form in photoshop to scale (40 feet by a 1/2 mile is fun to map )

should be done by the weekend

send you a copy of the graph when done

[HATEFACE]

...and then putting them in graph-paper form in photoshop to scale (40 feet by a 1/2 mile is fun to map )...

I see. . .

[coach]

been thinking ... (yeah i know scary stuff that )

if making the Gate more than two levels proves undoable through the toolset ... we could make the 3rd through 5th levels inaccessible to PCs by calling them the "Garrison" levels

the Army of Bloodstone has a permanent patrol station in the Vaasan Gate and being as though Damara pretty much is always under threat of war and the threats are mostly from the Vaasa region, the King could force the Gate to leave the top floors empty of residents or shops in case the Army has to be garrisoned there on short notice

problem solved?

[HATEFACE]

Yes?

[darrenhfx]

We can also make any second level interior areas of the wall that we might want players to be able to access, interior areas. Maybe some will want to serve in the guard, for example.

I think you're killing Indio with the details Coach.
All good points to consider, however.

The detailing of the Vaasan Gate we can massage along during the beta process much as Rick & crew are doing now.

*waits patiently for a mountain screenie*

[indio]

I'm taking it easy in truth...enjoying the last 2 weeks of my break swimming with my boy.

Will have something by the end of the month with any luck.