Anyone have a Volo wanna be PC?

[DEV Jlf2n]

I would like to add a merchant to the book store in Baldur's Gate who sells books that describe our PW. For example a book on Cloakwood or a book on the Lions Way ect.

These books won't be a walk through, just descriptions of the experience one can expect.

All you will need to do is write out the text. I will get it added in game to the books.

[Raist]

Hmm, Can't say i will be a good candidate, but if you are making books in the module, I have a request...can I get my book "printed" pretty please ?

If you feel that it needs more added or something removed/corrected, I am all ears.

theswordcoast.proboards89.com/index.cgi?board=theelfsongtavern&action=display&thread=1048&page=2#10199

[sen]

That sounds like a great idea Don´t know if I can write something like this, but I think I will give it a try later.



Edit: Well, it sure was more difficult than I had imagined it to be. Somehow it was fun though ;D I tried to imitate Volo´s style a bit, just because I find him too hilarious ;D


Here is my first attempt on the Cloakwood:

It is only a few days´ journey down the famous Coast Way from Baldur´s Gate where the attention of the wayfarer is inevitably caught by the ancient beauty and the eluding foretaste of mystery surrounding the infamous Cloakwood. The road passes by the wild forest while describing a decent arc, which is the nearest most local folk ever gets to that place. Yet should someone not be able to withstand the unutterable charms of an unsolved mystery right before them:
Be warned.
Lizard folk, giant minotaurs and even more ancient and deadly fey are said to have made these woods their home – and they are defending its secrets furiously. Some of the more talkative monks of the near Candlekeep – meaning that they were at least not utterly ignoring you most of the time – once stated that the Cloakwood was supposed to bear a wide variety of over a thousand different magic portals, although I could not find a trace of even one of them during my visits there to confirm this ventorous statement.

The name Cloakwood already describes this strange place best. Elm, breach, and felsul trees are building a thick, surrounding wall, only broken at a few spots where sunlight can break through.
Even during daytime it is dark and gloomy there, and adventurers who get lost in the Cloakwood at night without a torch are rarely ever seen again.

There are also the occasional caves and even an abandoned silver mine, which – as I was told by a reliable source – had been abandoned as the miners had vanished and never had been heard from again – persistant rumors have it that they disturbed something as they dug too deep, and even the minotaurs do not dare entering the lowest levels of the mine.



One thing to note: I don´t speak English as my native language, so some grammatical mistakes might happen. As for the content, I tried to mix in some general lore (or rumors) but I did not find too much with regard to the Cloakwood. If someone spots a mistake or has a suggestion how to improve it, go tell

[Raist]

^
l
l

Awesome, just awesome. I really wish to encourage you to keep writing more of these, it is very good ! If the gramma is horrible, I didn't see it !

[sen]

Thanks for the feedback I also had some other ideas on my mind like a little bestiary or a who´s who. Will try to experiment a bit.

[DEV Jlf2n]

good deal man that looks great. Can you send them to me in a PM in the future so I don't lose track?

[sen]

Sure thing

I had the idea of including a little bestiary with descriptions of a few more common monsters. Here is the first part of my attempt:


Traveler´s handbook to the beasts of the Sword Coast – Part 1

Although the prosperous cities of the Sword Coast can be considered (well, mostly) somewhat civilized, do not mistake this as a sign for a stilly or even an uperilous region. Once having left the apparent peacefulness around Baldur´s Gate, the unsuspecting traveler finds himself astonished swfitly by the very uniqe composition of monsters that has been shaping the Coast´s folk for centuries (and has turned adventuring into a regular and widely accepted source of income).

With this book you are holding in your hands, discerned reader, I have taken on the ambitious task of introducing you to the most common and most interesting creatures the Sword Coast has to offer. Listing all of them would burst the limits of this humble volume, but it should serve its purpose greatly as a quick guidance to beginner mercenaries and adventurers as well as to the stay-at-home scholar.


Gnolls:

These furred humanoids are most commonly encountered in packs while raiding something – either merchant caravans, small towns or – more casually - their own kind. They are exceptionally tall, for their size surprisingly agile, with a more or less brown fur hide and would be adequately compared to oversized dogs. Gnolls are not overly intelligent, but come with quite unhealthy tendencies towards bloodshed and brutal slaughter. Assumedly they hate hard work and are known to capture humanoid slaves from their raids for that reason whenever possible.

Goblins:

The goblins are a small and inconspicous folk which prefers dark, wet caverns over the surface. At night the tribes crawl out of their hidden lairs and rob anything (literally, anything) they can get under their claws, including valuables, chicken, cows, horses and everything else that they consider worth stealing. These nightmares of any farmer are about four feet tall, have a flat face, pointy ears and the colors of their furry pelt vary from a dirty yellow to a red-brown rust tone. They only appear in huge numbers – and don´t have any qualms about relying on dirty tricks such as ambushes and traps. I can safely assure you (from my very own share of painful experiences) that, in terms of sneakiness and maliciousness, they are truly unrivaled across the realms.

Wyverns:

At first glance, these feral winged lizards with the size of a small hut resemble the descendants of ancient dragons (an impression which might actually come closer to the truth than many of those fusty bookworms could imagine). Yet they are not by far as intelligent as their dreadful archetypes, which of course doesn´t mean they aren´t dangerous. A wyvern uses his razor-sharp claws and teeth in the shape of small daggers as a distraction for its last weapon: The deadly poison in the sting at the end of their curved tail on their back. It is said that this poison is strong enough to kill their prey within the blink of an eye – which is the reason why most still sane adventurers would not go against a wyvern with anything else than ranged weapons or powerful magic when it comes down to a fight.
Nesting sites, nevertheless, are quite in demand, as mages and alchemists are sometimes willing to pay up to ridiculous sums of gold for undamaged eggs.



Notes: I plan to include a few more monsters, but I still have to decide on which. Also, I´m open for feedback and suggestions

Edit:



Beholders:

Beholders (occassionaly called eye-tyrants, amongst others) are an extraordinary infrequent sight on the Coast, a circumstance which is considerably fortunate for glowing spelunkers and adventurers (who can visit a splendiforous, livesize stuffed exemplary of that intriguing species in the Elfsong Tavern at Baldur´s Gate, together with a Dragon´s Breath beer that lets grow hair on your teeth, and an exquisite patronage; a real must-visit for adventurers and alike). The most dominant feature of a beholder is the magnificent eye sitting in the centre of a floating, orbshaped body. Various smaller eyestalks grow out of it, surrounding the main eye like a floundering collar of tentacles. Their very essence is rumored to consist of ancient, powerful magic which is channelized and released through their eyeballs into an irresistible and deadly blast of energy – while the antimagic component of the mid eye´s beam renders spell protections and enchantments utterly useless. Acknowledged by high-ranking wizards and scholars, the magic flowing through the beholders provides them with a certain amount of intelligence (let alone surpassing their own, but which narrow-minded wizard would actually concede that); they are known to be extremely xenophobic and of impassionate (and sadistic) malicousness, but not necessarily treacherous, as they usually abide by a contract they make. However, caution is advised when relying on them, since many adventurers forget to insist on including the line „Leave the contractual partner unharmed afterwards“ in the agreement.

Hill Giants:

These are the smaller relatives of the legendary giant tribes, and even by their taller kind they are generally considered as not much more than frenzied dogs, up to the point of denying any knowledge or even distant connection to them. Their standing is somewhere underneath humans and right after all smaller humanoid races like halflings and gnomes (Who are respectively called „lunch“ in giant´s tongue). Hill Giants see exactly two purposes in their life – provided a particulary bright one ever wonders about that – which turn out to be eating and smashing everything in their way. Unfortunately, their enormous size (which rivals a huge barn) and unbelievable natural physical strength make them fairly devastating in either discipline. Although being despised, they still seek for the vicinity of the mountains inhabitated by other giant races and can often be found roaming and diligently demolishing any settlements in the foothills. It is to no surprise that the topics of a conversation with a Hill Giant are somewhat limited, yet there is a trick, passed down by dwarven giant-hunters, which already saved many adventurers from being stomped into the earth: Surrounded dwarves used to convince their giant enemies of being distantly related family members as a last resort (the one and only thing a Hill Giant would not destroy without a second thought – which probably would already be overstraining his mind anyway); I trust you will find this a very valuable suggestion, yet should there appear an undoubtedly rare and unfortunate case where it proves futile, I want to give you my very own personal piece of advise on your way: Good luck and run fast.