<<ps. and no, it's not in the flooded tunnels.>>

That was directed at me? (grin) I have a death wish!

(grin)

Ileia was kind enough to gate me out of there (grin)


Pilf, who is no rangah

(Ibec cheers on Sulrin.)

This is good a new GM welcome to Northern Zoluren.

Ibec Alshaerd

As always, nice ideas Ibec. Hope ya don't mind if I respond to them.

>>How about renaming it back to Darkstone for starters.

But why? Might as well rename the capital of Zoluren back to River Crossing.

>>One thing is a new road to the city this is a important first step. The path is not easy to find so not many know how to get to dirge.

Yes the path is travelled so much it would be nice to remove it and just put an EAST direction in because it is part of the road.

>>Added hunting definantly oh need to get some of those other shops up and running.

Yes, shops would mainly sell survival type things as the town is pretty poor and has very few visitors.

>>Excavation sites and a mueseum and a working town hall.

I am not sure how Dirge is really setup for tourist attractions. There is that museum already down the road a bit in the Moon mage guild which is often overlooked. It is definitely a miner friendly area though.

-Ranik

You guys are too funny. :)

Yes, one of the things on my to-do-list is to set up at least one excavation site, and another is to get the shops up and running.

As far as changing the name back to Darkstone... I don't think that will happen. Darkstone is a thing of the past, and I hope to build a future for what is there now, not what was there long ago. (though I do plan to honor the memory of darkstone).

And I will see what can be done with the road. :)

Another thing that Dirge will be seeing a lot of in the future, are jobs. One of the main reasons I wanted to take over ownership was to be able to add NPCs and Jobs as I saw fit. So Dirge will definitely be a testing ground for a lot of the systems I work with.

Sulrin

ps. I will think about a meeting. Overall, I prefer the boards, mainly because it's easier for me to pull out information/suggestions and save them. But we will see.

Sulrun,

One of the things that might be worth looking at is the prices of food and drink at the Darkstone Inn and the Grocer?

Not likely to attract folks wandering through with the costs that are currently there.

-pete/Barnacus

Hey GM Sulrin,

We're really happy you have taken over this area.

Things have been quiet the past three weeks because of summer vacations and such but things are starting to pick up again.

Has GM Meriel passed the couple of plans we sent on to you?

Also, if you wish, I can write you a letter detailing our history and our current plans.

Thanks and glad to have you,

Bryan, player of Mordiazi..Voice of the Dirge Council

We try to hold a festival in Dirge every so often. So far, since 1999 (When Sirolarn placed the council there) We've had three. So, they are about yearly.

The last one was at the end of April.

Bryan, player of Mordiazi

It has been requested in the "Death in elanthia" folder as well that some type of arrangement be made by which corpses which die in technically therengian soil <crocs area,etc> might be brought to Dirge.

Perhaps some type of event involving Dirge Priests petitioning for this might be in order for this plan to come to fruition if it is feasible to do so.

As to the reasoning--it is very difficult particularly when people may not have coin in haven,etc, for younger folks that depart in crocs and have to wait for the ferry,etc in order to return to their gravesites. Playability is the function desired here. From dirge they would still have to travel, but wouldn't impose undue hardship.

-me-

>>Can you share a few hints about what we should be looking forward to where jobs are concerned? Thanks!

Folder 3 (surviving in DR-Elanthia) --> Subject 18 (Jobs).

:)

~player of Gulphphunger

I have an idea of an area in Dirge that would be 3 things in one---

a. a jobs place for newbies.
Would involve the removal of ash from the town. <It would be like Pompeii--any town once immolated by a volcano would have alot of ash from the cooled lava. They Would have to take said ash and take it to another town to sell it to say a farmer that would use it for fertilizer. say--arthe dale.

b. an excavation site.
Similar to Throne city. Would have various "treasure" you'd have to dig for--an archaelogical site--as Darkstone would have many things of historical value. There would be a limiting time factor---Prolonged digging would lead to skin abrasions from the heat--you would be near to the volcano, and it would be very hot. S'kra might be slightly less susceptible--as they have scales, not skin--and are more sensitive to cold, not to heat.

c. Critter site
There could be some undead stuff--ghosts of Darkstone former inhabitants--that might not like people digging around in their "graves" so to speak <see # 2 above>--that would come out and do the usual critter <attackadventurer> thing. They might occasionally wander into area 2--but wouldn't go bother the newbies in area 1. <there could be a barricade or some other type of inhibiting factor or skill-check--climbing comes to mind--- to prevent newbies from accidently getting into the other 2 areas>.

Runerod

Just wondering when we can expect to see something done to this pile of rubble that i was born in soon? Riverhaven has gotten so many wonderful changes. But us people of Dirge get nothing. Well had to ask.


A concerned citizen of the pile of rubble called Dirge,
Ibec Alshaerd

It would be interesting if Dirge had a lower exchange rate than Crossing. It might draw some people up there to take advantage, thus increasing the traffic through the area, which would be nice.

---

-Gheist

<<I'm still amazed that a town as small as Dirge has a bank at all.>>

if you read the IC history of the town, when it was "Darkstone"--prior to the Volcano wiping out the populace--that town and Throne City were the "main" cities of the 7-star empire.


This doesn't look like a good place to finger-waggle.

Meriel/any other Zoluren GM, was just curious, how come the trail areas outside of dirge/the gorbesh fort are considered City and not Wilderness? They have at least 2 ranger trails inside of them, plus the fact that rangers can branch break in these areas (theres trees in the descriptions).... ranger trails arent usually inside cities. Just looking at the descriptions of the rooms...

---

This is the first area:

[Lava Fields, Narrow Trace]
Close by, a primitive pathway has been scratched out of the hard rock and basalt to the east, where it wanders into grey shadows of dust and floating ash. A narrow road lies between high boulders in the other direction. Faint marks etched into the coarse dark stone point towards the path and away from the caravan road.
Obvious paths: east.
Now, this area isnt natarul, but its hardly urban, it should at least call a neutral bonus, its not like theres a bustling city and some thieves hanging out in the lava tube making bombs (or is there?!)

---

Next room

[Lava Fields, Narrow Trace]
The barest hint of a path undulates along the irregular crests of frozen rills of lava. Here and there, the stump of a tree, burned and dead, pokes above the bleak landscape but does little to break the monotony of the lifeless scene. The eerie desolation eats into your spirit and fills your mind with visions of death, while endless chill shadows and unnamed fears caper and dance at the edge of your senses. You also see a stone tower.
Obvious paths: west.

Now this one is very nature-ey, talking about the volcano, an occurance of nature, again, its certainly not a city area from what im reading here, at the least consider making it neutral....

---

Heres another room on the road itself:

[Lava Fields, Narrow Trace]
To the west, broken layers of lava and basalt rise in irregular piles. To the east and north, a narrow plane opens out between steep mountain shoulders. The black tide of volcanic destruction and molten has buried all that once was here and only a thick layer of ash remains, dancing in the erratic winds to give even a hint of life. Off to the extreme north, you can make out a narrow valley.
Obvious paths: northeast, west.

A valley? We are In between mountains too.... rocks and such, sounds natureish to me, its certainly not urban, not this part at least.

---

I wont paste EVERY room, but also, down the trail, right outside the fort (i was out therea bunch today so I had time to check) I can use branch break, theres trees, yet the area is anti-ranger... this strikes me as bizarre. Take a look at the descriptions:

---

[Lava Fields, Switchback Trail]
Walls of cooled lava rise high above, seeming to melt downward in rounded flows. Any footfalls which might echo through this canyon are muffled by the layers of ash which cover the twists and turns of the trail. You also see a narrow trace.
Obvious paths: east.


[Lava Fields, Switchback Trail]
The trail continues to twist and turn here, well out of sight of the Northern Trade Road.
Obvious paths: south, west.

Ok now these two, seem like lava cooled and formed some sort of a trail here. Lava, being an occurance of nature.... in the middle of mountains, a volcano nearby... this is all a pretty natureish area from what it sounds like, yet its ANTI-ranger, not even neutral. Inside the fort itself obviously is a man made structure and it makes sense that its anti ranger, but these areas outside of dirge and such, please consider making them at least neutral, its tanking bonuses on rangers staying in the area, a bunch of them didnt even realize it was anti-ranger, cause it just doesnt seem like a place it would be (And since we have actual ranger TRAILS here... I mean, that pretty much makes people assume its ranger-friendly)

---

Thanks for reading
~Sammee

Anyone wish to tell me the story about Dirge. I know the whole volcano thing but has it always been a rundown sorta place. seems like it was grand once.



"One more medicated peaceful moment"

>>I hope someone else replies to this, I don't remember where I heard this... I believe Dirge used to be Darkstone? Which was a big city during the Seven Star Empire I believe... unfortunately thats really about all I know, and its pretty blurry I'm not sure if its fact or not. :(

That part, at least, is right. I seem to remember reading that some time ago. There are still relics of the days when Dirge was known as Darkstone: The Darkstone Inn for instance.

Ryeka


Sometimes the key to happiness is not assuming it is locked in the first place- Ziggy

A journey of a thousand SMILES begins with a single step- Ziggy

<<a town called Darkstone is in the Gemstone game and since both games are said to take place on the same planet it maybe there is some history in Gemstone about Dirge.

Thats brilliant, I'm about 99% sure that there is a town called Darkstone in Gemstone, its been years, I'm gonna hafta look in to that. :) ::praise::

~Jycanth

<<From "help cities" ->>

thanks, didn't know help did that. will look into more.




"One more medicated peaceful moment"

From what i've been able to gather Dirge was a major city supplies generally came through it going to throne city. The primary reason therengia came into existance was to help protect the trade route. The theren expedition originated and was supplied from the city. Its been the sight of numerous wars and battles. The first Gorbesh war was fought in the region with the Imperial Legions fighting in and around the city. One of the first battles Lanival's armies fought was also in the region.

The Faldesu treaty which shaped the current border between Therengia and Zoluren was hammered out there. It was the home to one of Zoluren's Royal Houses until its destruction. It was a grand city until the disaster and it would be great to see it become that once again.


Ibec Alshaerd

---

Stamped upon the parchment is the Crest of House Alshaerd. A grandeous phoenix rising from the Greater Fist of Heavens encircled by golden laurels.