Any information on the web or in game relating to the history, culture, citizens, political status, physical condition, etc. of Dirge?

I'm working on what I think is a cool idea for the area but I need to make sure it fits in regard to roleplay and the historical fiction surrounding the city.


Thanks!


-Pilf

<<All sorts, there is even a group who have a web site dedicated to the restoration of Dirge.>

Thank you.

Restoration? Ick! My ideas don't include that. ;)

(ponder)

-Pilf

Premise:

Botolf - The god of dishonesty and deceit, Botolf is the symbol of corruptness and bribery. His actions have caused murderers to go free and thieves to get off with damages paid by the person who prosecuted them. Botolf loves to visit Dirge (his favorite city), and is the patron of Knife Clan and thieves guilds. Botolf is also the god of fallen paladins, and often appears in tarnished armor in need of a polish. His emblem is the goshawk.

Needed areas in game:

1) In-city thief hunting.
2) Alternate stealing methods and alternate consequence.
3) Expansion of undead creatures for clerical hunting.
4) Possible starting point for shady systems such as "smuggling"


Proposal:

Transformation of Dirge into a place of "desolation" where bands of thieves call home and "dark aligned" clerics worship dark aspects of gods in the shadow of the volcano.

IC Reasoning:

Dirge is virtually a destroyed city. Due to its location, any monetary resources dumped into Dirge is a severe risk to the Prince. Restoring order to such an area is sure to be difficult. The Prince may be willing to turn a blind eye if the practices of the city stay on the fringes of his province and a small "fee" is paid to the government. :) Though........ I'm not sure what the province of Therengia would think?

Dirge is in the shadow of the volcano so it's reasonable to expect people of ancient times would tie this to religious significance. Destruction, desolation, danger would be tied to evil or angry gods. Clerics and religious leaders would flock to such areas in efforts to appease or worship these gods. There is a ton of room for expansion in a role-playing sense for the Dirge area due to this volcano and I'm sad to see it not being utilized more. Since death has been a regular occurrence throughout the history of the city there should be a good selection of both undead and corporeal undead creatures as well as role-playing opportunities. I'm not suggesting volcano worship but I am suggesting shrines and religious centers dedicated to the dark aspects of gods.

Given its desolation only the rejects of society or those who just don't fit in anywhere else will go to Dirge -- a place of last resort. This is where the thieves come in. There is no "law" or "order" in this town so justice must be taken into their own hands. Stealing from a shop keeper in Dirge will not mean jail time, it will not mean a bonus hit ...... it means the shop keeper is going to come out from behind the counter and beat the bloody hell out of you. (grin) This could be a good start for thieves to get some alternate methods of stealing in the game, expansion of in-city hunting areas accommodating both low level thieves and elder thieves, thief friendly NPCs, etc.

Clerics:

1) Devotion rituals for dark aligned clerics (when alignment is implemented)

2) Good selection of "positive undead" -- "an undead holy warrior" (grin)

3) Role-play opportunities (volcanic events) for these clerics

Thieves:

1) I can't say the main reason why!

2) Alternate methods of stealing and non-bonus hit type repercussions

3) Viable hunting within the walls of city

Overall justice:

1) High crimes would be punishable by death.

2) Less severe crimes such as stealing may result in the removal of both hands or arms, a severe beating, and/or being dragged outside the city gates stunned.

3) Guards of the city would be thief enforcers. "Thus fare all who steal from the brotherhood" (smirk)


-More shops. At least twelve to keep it viable for older thieves to learn at a reasonable rate. (Easily done with multi-room concept on different timers; example: Survivalist Shop)

-More hunting areas. Several corpeal undead, bipedal creatures to accommodate both clerics and thieves.

-Construction of a few religious shrines and artifacts of religious significance

Dirge makes you lose a random item you have equipped.

The Clans out the West Gate of Crossing do the remove hand thing, and thats if you don't hide from them in time.

> Currently they beat the tar out of you and take a random item from your inventory. I think random item from inventory is a bit much.


Welcome to Elanthia....land of odd priorities....

Also. The council has plans to make the cave into a healerie as well as ways to deal with the undead problem which you may be hearing about soon.

Mordiazi Neus.

OOC: Good suggestions for the town.

Hmm..... a lot to ponder there. :)

Thank you.

-Pilf


<<I know a decent amount of the city's history. Such as it was once a major Imperial city the Theren expedition was supplied from Dirge(Darkstone). The city was a major center of trade for the empire and the provence. The first battle between Terio and Lanival took place there. The Faldesu treaty was signed in the city bringing end to the conflict between Therengia and Zoluren. It was home to Zoluren's third royal family. In 277 AV the city was destroyed by the greater fist. In recent years the council was placed there. Well thats a brief overview for you.>>

I agree with Pilf's ideas for Dirge.


with 1 addition. there is also a MM guild chapter right outside near the volcano. So make it Thief,Cleric and MM friendly, and we may just get some sweet stuff.

> The city is strategic in the defence of the north.

I would think it would be better if the NTR actually went through Dirge.

Ecky,

Sorry about last night. I want to see if a Kaldar member of the Council would be willing to sit in on your meetings and I haven't been able to get in touch with one yet. Hopefully next week.

Bryan, player of Mordiazi

>Sorry about last night. I want to see if a Kaldar member of the Council would be willing to sit in on your meetings and I haven't been able to get in touch with one yet. Hopefully next week.

We would welcome a Dirge Council member of any race! I remembered your support at our Festival, so would like to renew contact.

~~ Ecky ~~

<<Law enforcement? in Dirge? somehow... that doesn't fly.>>

How so? Isn't it a town? and shouldn't its government atleast attempt to enforce its laws?

<<Dirge, or as it was once known, Darkstone Town, is now in a sad state of ruin and lawlessness due to volcanic activity in the not-too-distant past that wiped out direct caravan access to the town as well as most of its farmlands, productivity and population. Now mainly a hiding place for criminals, thieves and other ne'er-do-wells, few decent people ever make the arduous journey there.>>

You should research its recent history.

<<Making some in-town thief-bonused hunting areas in Dirge would be nice tho. :-) >>

I agree that would be a good idea, but we can't request that IC. It doesn't make any sense.

Dirge Council says, "Yes, um, Your Highness. Could you place some in-town theif bonused hunting areas in Dirge? While we are trying to reduce crime in the city we would also like to increase it by making more thieves want to come here."

Prince Vorclaf asks, "Huh?"

Not to mention that our characters don't know what a thief bonused hunting area is, since its OOC.

Bryan, player of Mordiazi

Ya sorry about dissapearing on yall i haven't had real good access. Also i lost most of my AIMs which is a major pain so i have to rebuild the list bit by bit. So i am gonna have to get your pigion again. Heh well at least you guys and the council are trying to get together on things. You know Boltif or what ever is one of Chadatru's underlings. Chadatru is generally known as the god of the paladins and justice. Even though there is not a direct road into the city. Its position still makes it highly effective in defending the pass. Well hope i can catch up with yall here pretty quickly.

Ibec Alshaerd

<<Botolf - God of cheating, bribery, blackmail...and basically being underhanded.

Rutilor is Chadatru's upside, the opposite of being underhanded,..he's just straight up, honest, and steadfast.

Just in case you were going anywhere with the reference..::coughs::>>

I think Gonif was making reference to the fact that Botolf is the patron of Dirge.

Bryan

Personally, I'm more inclined to watching Dirge go further down the tubes. While I appreciate the Council's official position of reconstruction, the Law is already handled by less than scrupulous individuals, and with a little time, and coin, I'm sure the whole system could degenerate into a wretched hive that Novices and Commoners would shudder to hear stories of. Stick a sign on the road that says "Dirge: Enter at own risk." The Paladins would avoid it and the Traders would sweat as their fat loaded caravans rolled by, realizing that in the Shadows threats might be lurking. The Volcano destroyed Darkstone, even if it's rebuilt, the Volcano might do it again... unless you plan on removing the Volcano, I don't see how one could hope to ever restore Darkstone. Darkstone is dead. Dirge is the ghostly remnants... let's make it earn the name Dirge... Dirge (from the latin for Office of the Dead), a song for the dead... <smiles wickedly revealing fangs from the shadows>

-- Supporter of Chaos, believer in Dirge

As y'all know, I've been searching for a new GM to take over the care, feeding, and development of Dirge. The main criteria is that GM candidate had to impress me as someone not only with a plan and vision, but also as someone who has the time and desire to bring those plans to life.

Please allow me to introduce your new city guru... GM Sulrin! Rather than say anything specific about his plans and projects, I'll let him tell you what he feels appropriate (I wouldn't want to spoil surprises!), and tell you a little about himself.

Cheers!

Meriel

Hey there guys.

A few of you already knew my interest in Dirge, and finally I get to do with it as I want... :)

There will be some changes coming to the ancient city of Darkstone. What they are exactly, I don't want to go over just yet, but I have a lot of plans, many of which will hopefully bring this wonderful town back to its proper place within the Realms.

As far as the player run organization already there... Don't worry, I know about you guys(though probably not enough) and I am taking you into consideration with my plans. Though I can promise, the thiefly element will never leave Dirge/Darkstone, and there will definitely be a bit more growth in that department along with others, like a true government, hopefully run by players. But, that is for the future.

I do collect suggestions, and while I may not post a lot, I do constantly read, and take notes. Talk to you all later!

Sulrin

Also, I think it'd be neat if there was actually some reason to climb up the Greater Fist as the ride down is really neat and whoever made it did a very nice job. Maybe could make a way to go through into the mines to hunt something profitable enough to warrant reason for someone to make that treacherous climb (or for the planned mining skill later?). I will leave the Dirge town stuff to the people who I have read know a lot more about the sort of thing than I do. Thank you very much.

-Ranik

ooo, I am looking forward to some sweet things in Dirge!


nightblade schvartz

>>Thanks for the kind words Ranik. I still don't think you (or anyone for that matter) have found everything in the caves by the way. :winks:

Okay that was completely uncalled for. Grrr well down to Shard I go now. :-P

-Ranik