Stiixxi, The Sunken City: Prologue, Preparations and Inspirations
When the lights, go down, in the city :3
As the Mvrkmaal's Tunnel Delving continues, I begin to unfurl the butterfly wings of Adventurous Spirit and Courage. I recently went on a Skating/Polaroid Taking Mission to the City of San Francisco California.
A simple BART ride away from me, lies a city full of cool spots and unseen alleyways. A city built in the hills, the sort of place that would never come about naturally if not for the hubris Humanity knows all too well.
I spent a few hours skating on my nickelboard, exploring the area by the Piers and then going up to the hill to Coit Tower before descending towards Chinatown and returning to my BART station. On this outing, I saw many styles of buildings. The way San Francisco compacts everything mesmerized me. I love seeing different styles of buildings and the deep dichotomy apparent when additions/buildings were clearly made by different people during a different time.
I saw many people, of many walks of life. Those on their way to their job, those out and about for leisure as I was, some simply passing through to another destination.
And the sun shines on, the bay :3
My plans for Stiixxi are to create something akin to Greg Gillespie's Highfell. A large landmass, a smaller scale hexcrawl with dungeons dispersed throughout. Mine would be in the ocean, moving around similar to Highfell with smaller islands surrounding it. It'll heavily be based off of San Francisco, though a ruined version that sinks into the ocean for months at a time.
The encounters would probably include both Aquatic type things, maybe some Lovecraftian things like Fish-Men and Ancient Alien Visitors trapped in Oceanic Prisons. Alcatraz could house some things (Megadungeon???? :3) but I definitely want to include many Human encounters as well. Your run of the mill bandits, pirates and such since the City would be a hotspot for adventure and looting as the Ocean refills its streets with many things.
The parts of buildings lost to time would be replaced by coral reefs, and the additions made by the Underwater Dwellers that inhabit the city during it's Sunken State.
San Francisco is a huge city. While I do have access to maps, street layouts and some general insights into the layouts of buildings I will need to do a fair amount of random generation. Maybe grabbing the Buildings Generator from Into The Cess and Citadel or the OZ Book by Andrew Kolb would smooth things along but I am also enticed by the idea of coming up with my own custom Geomorphs :33.
Do I wanna be there? In my City. ;3
The many hills, neighborhoods and landmarks of San Francisco make each visit feel like i'm exploring a D&D City. Maybe it's how compressed and un-natural it all feels, maybe it's the amount of highly unique individuals I see out and about doing their own things. Maybe it's simply just me, making a way bigger deal out of things than they actually are.
I want to retain that feeling within Stiixi. A city that is filled with people simply going about their lives, nothing super insane or spectacular happening. The Bay Area is not a place you go to in order to see insane landmarks, or experience an insane night life. It's a place where Working People live and Work. The entertainment as such is very down to earth; restaurants to eat at, parks to spend a leisurely evening, many places where you simply just walk and take in the landscape.
The Sunken City will definitely include portions that will be more like a Traditional City in a TTRPG. Stores, NPC's to interact with mostly, Local Laws and Urban Encounters. Something like The City-State of the Invincible Overlord would be useful as a small taste of civilization within the ruined streets of Stiixi.
I want it to almost be its own Setting, within the larger setting of The Twilight Queen's Domain. A place where you can have your Hexcrawling Sessions, your Dungeon-Delving Sessions, and your Downtime/Roleplay Sessions.
The Fact That Journey and Night Ranger were both from SF brings a massive smile to my face ;3
I've included a few photos of places I found of particular interest whilst in San Francisco. I have Polaroid versions of most of these, not included because the essence of the medium is lost in the translation of a taking a Picture of a Polaroid with a Mobile Phone.
