Does anyone know of any information about the Gnomish stronghold of Glandeven in the Bone March part of the Flinty Hills? My players will be passing through there soon and if there's anything interesting already out there about it I'd rather use that than wing it. I searched all the Greyhawk web sites I could find and did a general search using Google already to no avail.
The blurb in Living Greyhawk (I think) basically just said it was built by the dwarves for the gnomes.
Hrm, I'm not aware of any articles on Glandeven here at CF! PSmedger or Legate are our resident Bone March specialists, perhaps one of them will chime in with some useful information for you.
However, if you decide to write something up pertaining to Glandeven, I'd be interested in seeing it as a submitted article to CF! _________________ Kneel before me, or you shall be KNELT!
I found this on platinumcrown.com but I don't know if it'll help but at least its something:
"The next morning, they gathered their gear, grabbed Fessick and set out. After two days, they passed through Schukendale, a small village that borders the southern edge of the Flinty Hills. They continued north along the Snake Pass for a day, then turned east and followed the Ogrebolt Trail. Along the way, they ran into some hobgoblins and a few bugbears. On the third day along the trail, they arrived at the citadel of Glandeven.
A gnomish patrol came out to meet the group, a few words of greeting were said and the group was allowed to proceed to the citadel.
One hundred sixty feet in diameter and over one hundred feet tall, the citadel was a massive structure indeed. It was rumored that eight thousand gnomes resided within its dark tan walls, but no one had ever confirmed it. Mounted on the roof, facing each of the four cardinal directions, were four giant ballista. When within twenty feet of the entrance, the group could see that the walls were smooth, no windows broke its surface. Passing through the entrance, the group turned to the right and began their journey up along the inside of the outer wall. All along the inner wall, arrow slits could be seen, as well as the faces of the gnomish crossbowmen behind them. After one hundred feet up, they came to a set of doors on the inner wall. The guards asked what their business was here, and allowed the group to enter. They proceeded in twenty feet, when they saw an open pit directly in front of them. The pit was fourty feet in diameter and had a ramp going down along the sides. Looking up, revealed the open sky, a hole in the roof to allow rain and fresh air into the citadel. The group headed down the ramp, and after one hundred thirty feet, they realized they must be underground. The citadel continued down, but the group was not allowed past the market area. They got some rooms and stayed the night.nbsp; While they were there, Fessick tried to hire someone to craft him a pair of giant cesti, but no one would take the job."
I also found out the the gnomes of Glandeven pay homage to the local gnome king of the Flinty Hills known as Warren ap Hiller (per Gord) _________________ Rhineglade the Dreamcaster
Member of the Indigo Order
Emissary of Hyerune
Per Zavoda's index, there's a reference to Glandeven in WGR4 on page 83. _________________ Allan Grohe<br />https://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html<br />https://grodog.blogspot.com/
My guess is that it is a brief "in passing" type reference. Zavoda put anything relevant in his index from what I can tell. _________________ Kneel before me, or you shall be KNELT!
thisd is the sum total of the mention from Marklands:
Quote:
The Ogrebolt Pass leads east from Schukendale in-
to the free hills and to the gnomish citadel of Glan-
deven, often besieged by Bone March goblinoids but
still unbowed.
Okay, folks, it's time once again to help out a brother in need...
My players have (again) done the unexpected. Thinking to dissuade them from tracking down a false lead that I decided I didn't want to deal with, I told them the source of the lead was in the Bone March - hundreds and hundreds of miles away from where they are. They didn't react as expected, and now they're preparing to mount a major journey to track down their lead.
Which leaves me desperately trying to scrape together something for them to do when they get there. I've been sifting through the 'net looking for Bone March info but there just ain't that much available.
Does anybody know of any good Bone March information beyond what's found in this thread? Any good websites out there?
Can you tell us the nature of the game, the false lead they are chasing? In situations like this I modify my original idea. I always try and keep everything open ended and flexible. _________________ Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods
Can you tell us the nature of the game, the false lead they are chasing? In situations like this I modify my original idea. I always try and keep everything open ended and flexible.
In a nutshell, the players have just found an object they cannot identify. It's really a horn taken from the tarrasque - an artifact level item that is key to releasing Tharizdun from his prison. But for now all they know is that it's a strange item that seems to be magically inert and impossible to harm. I'm using the horn as a plot device and do not intend for it to become anything the players can use until much later.
The PCs took the horn to a local sage to find out what it is. He gave them information that was designed to lead them into the next adventure, but I didn't want to make it too easy so I also gave them a number of false leads. I assumed (wrongly) that they would follow those leads that were easiest, then work their way down the list until they found what they were looking for.
But unfortunately one of the players remembered some obscure adventure he played as a kid that had something to do with a magical horn from a castle in Bone March. I have no idea what he was talking about. The rest of the players, shamelessly metagaming, have decided to follow this player's hunch.
Normally I would just throw something in their path that led them back into the main plot, but this particular group hates railroading in any form. So I've opted to let them go to Bone March. Silly me.
Normally I would just throw something in their path that led them back into the main plot, but this particular group hates railroading in any form. So I've opted to let them go to Bone March. Silly me.
Not silly, it's what I would do. I'm sketchy on details here, but you could present them with taking the horn to an NPC (person or monster) who is capable of performing some sort of ritual to assist in unlocking a tidbit of the magic possessed in the horn. Not the kind of magic the PCs can use, but rather the type that can make things difficult. Perhaps a premonition of some sorts which isn't a dead give away occurs. The person or monster performing the ritual to unlock the magic dies a horrible death in the process but gives dying words about a great evil and that the PCs must keep the horn for others are searching for it. To discard it and not protect it would be the worst thing they could do. This sacrifice and premonition would tie in with the original idea you wanted them to follow up on, thus politley redirecting them without railroading the players.
I would make it far more than just a simple NPC encounter though since it sounds like Bone March is very much out of their way. Perhaps the person/monster can be found in a dungeon and the reward of going through the dungeon is the above ritual. As long as the side trek takes up some time and has a worthwhile outcome to advance the plot (the PCs learn something of significant value) I suspect the players will see it as they made the correct decision to go to Bone March and not as DM railroading.
Depending upon the circumstances, you could even have the magic be partially unleashed on a PC. I have no idea what kind of magic properties you plan to give the horn, but it could possess some negative drawbacks as well, kinda like the "One True Ring" in Lord of the Rings. The characters had to accept the drawback and properly dispose of the item because if they didn't, the outcome would be far worse than being selfish and just gettting rid of the darn thing. I would make such a complication not overbearing but enough that they realize they have to go about things the right way in order to destroy a greater evil. _________________ Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods
There's a good bit of useful info in "Shadows of Spinsecastle" in Dungeon # 148. I think you could keep the encounters in the adventure and invent your own reasons for them occurring in line with what is happening in your campaign, or you could expand on it or do something else using the info about the city itself.
You could, of course, be really cruel; I know I would be for such blatant metagaming nonsense. Let them travel across to the Bone March, throwing nothing but random encounters (see Eileens' new thread) and adventures that you always wanted to run but could never fit in to the overall plot, at them. After much hardship, they arrive to find; nothing. A red herring. I guess it depends on how much game time you're prepared to have spent on a diversion. But, if they don't suffer the consequences of their misjudgement they may never learn. I tell you what, the player who brought up the subject of the Bone March will be popular. Great role playing fun to be had there.
Stop changing your avatar, Smillan, it's very confusing. That's a good one btw. The last one was scary.
I love Ragr's idea, with the observation that I would interpret "much hardship" as "getting the crap soundly beat out of them in each encounter."
Then when all is over simply say, "That's what you get for metagaming, punks."
Heh. I should do that.
I kinda like this particular group, though. That kind of metagaming is not the norm for them, so I think I'll let it slide (this time) and make the best of the situation. That Spinecastle suggestion got me thinking...
That should at least point you to some good places to dig for more info, bg. _________________ Allan Grohe<br />https://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html<br />https://grodog.blogspot.com/
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