Post by Lady Frost on Jan 26, 2010 21:23:13 GMT -5
--KEEP IN MIND THAT FRC'S GREATGAUNT USED TO BE NON-CANON ISINHOLD AND DOES NOT REPRESENT CANON GREATGAUNT FOR MANY IN-CHARACTER REASONS--
Greatgaunt
Named for the old and respected Cormyrean military family who founded it,1 this fortified town of 4,000-odd folk stands on a rocky plateau overlooking the High Road. It lies on the road's east side just where the road, running north from the Bridge of Fallen Men, first enters the foothills of the Storm Horns. Greatgaunt is notable as the site of the Moon Dance, a monthly gathering of devotees of Selûne that has grown into something of a trade fair and as the home of Tansard Famwell, the Singer Among the Harpies, a youth so skilled that he can offset harpy charming by his singing. An accomplished mimic, Tansard is available for hire as an impersonator. He once played the part of Vangerdahast so well that he almost plunged the war wizards into a scandal. He’s been warned not to repeat similar performances on pain of death for treason or having his vocal cords cut, but there are rumors. . . .
Landmarks
Greatgaunt is dominated by Greatgard, the huge castle that stands at the south end of the walled city, rowning down from the full height of the ramparts and the cliff below at the road. Its walls are crowded with
espringales, catapults, and trebuchets of huge size that can hurl loads of rock for almost a mile along the road south of the town. There are even said to be bombards behind some of the downsloping fire chutes that can rake the ground below the walls. More importantly the town has a long and proud tradition of superb archery, and on duty archers practice shooting at mark poles outside the walls for several hours a day. Defenders on the town walls have been known to shoot attackers who’re so distant that they’re almost at the limits of human sight out of their saddles. Greatgard has held off orc hordes and even Zhentilar attacks. It is growing in importance as a military base as the Tun bandits grow more powerful and Cormyr looks to expand into Tunland. The Greatgaunt family home, Greatgates Manor, stands at the north end of the plateau above a ravine so broken and jagged that no attacking force has ever come from that direction. This small castle boasts magnificent windows on its inner walls that look down into a courtyard. These stained glass windows display the family arms, a righthand gauntlet clutching a dove in its fist. The courtyard holds a fountain enchanted with spells that heat the water to provide hot water year-round and prevent its freezing in winter. It’s known as the Steaming Fountain due to the vapor that streams from it when the air around is cold. Citizens of the town can come to it to draw water at anytime, since the pumps for the deep wells in the market at the other end of town often freeze up in harsh winter storms. Space within the walls is at a premium, and the visitor won’t find many trees. The town is a succession of tall, slate-roofed houses crowded together, wall touching wall, along narrow cobbled lanes. Bronze handrails, green with age, are set into the walls everywhere to allow walkers to use the sloping parts of a street in icy weather. And yes, the children of the town delight in sliding down icy streets at high speed on their backsides or borrowed shields until they crash into a prepositioned bale of straw or a wall, barrel, or cart.
Facing Greatgard across the large open marketplace2 at the south end of town is Moonrise House, the local temple to Selûne. Founded only about a decade ago by a charismatic priestess, the beautiful Marijel Dhallard (formerly of Selgaunt), the temple is fast growing into a force for growth and harmonious living with the cycles of nature in Greatgaunt. The temple also lends support to those who either must or choose to work at night, sleeping the day through. As devout worshipers love the moonlight best, they now make up a substantial portion of the Night Watch3 and the Purple Dragons serving on dark-duty shifts. Selûnians have festivals at every full moon and solemn sacrificial rituals where silver statuettes are melted in flames at every
moondark (new moon). They believe in planting4 and beginning craftwork as the moon waxes, and in cleaning, cooking, and doing chores as the moon wanes. This makes Greatgaunt interesting to visit. Many folk are asleep no matter what the time of day is, the streets are never crowded, and buildings have heavily padded shutters and thick walls to deaden sound, making it a peaceful place for travelers used to the noise and crowding of most walled towns.
Places of Interest in Greatgaunt
Shops
The Shield of Glory - Armor and Weaponry
This well-stocked armor and weaponry shop is just the place for an adventurers or armsmasters to outfit themselves in everything from leather underbreeches to full tourney coat-of-plate. The only arrows in the place are a few incredibly expensive enchanted arrows of slaying. (Other smaller shops in town deal exclusively in bows and arrows.) Almost every other personal weapon or accouterment can be had here. Lances are surprisingly good sellers, and the proprietor, the dwarf armorer Narthalin, is especially proud of his belts of six matched-balance everbright daggers (20 gp a set, firm). Local legend insists that the cellar caverns of the Shield have been used for centuries by the Greatgaunt family as an armory. The caverns are said to include an access gate to an ancient refuge created for the Greatgaunts long ago by the mysterious Sword Heralds. Narthalin refuses to discuss this. It is supposedly also reachable via a certain closet in Greatgard and a hidden passage in Greatgates Manor.
Taverns
The Twelve Dancing Knights
This quaint old tavern’s name is derived from some lines about it in a ballad by the long-dead bard Shalivarr of Iriaebor. The couplet has been ornately carved on a large plaque over the door:
O, twelve bold knights here made merrie, And when they left, a-dancing they be.
Shalivarr’s song refers to some rowdy nobles of early Cormyr. It’s easy to see what they liked about the smoky, warm-hearthed taproom within: plentiful drink served promptly and carefully by handsome men and comely maids, cozy booths adorned with old weapons and battle regalia of the realm, and platters of free hand food on every board. The hand food treats served here include grapes, butter biscuits, wedges of strong cheese, and slices of cold-spiced sausage. The Twelve Dancing Knights is a thoroughly enjoyable, if simple, thirst-slaying house and is highly recommended. Several old, retired miners and soldiers spend days gaming here by the fire. They love to tell stories of mountain lore, dragon treasure, and past battles to those who’ll buy them a pint of bitter black.
Inns
The Old Bucket Drops
The Old Bucket is not a bad inn, but it is a trifle overpriced. No food is served, and the only drink to be had is water from the sewers of wash water in each room. However, for 3 sp you can have a hot bath in your room in a copper carry-tub that has been filled by a line of servants dumping steaming kettles.
1. Greatgaunts are battlemasters and garrison commanders in the Purple Dragons today.
2. It's a livestock fair. Drovers are allowed to camp with their beasts in the center, among much dung and straw, so only a single ring of booths is allowed in the market.
3. The Night Watch is Greatgaunt.s shop and market police force, active only from dusk to dawn. Purple Dragons police the town during the day.
4.Usually in the small roadside fields below the town.
From here: Volo's Guide to Cormyr - web.njit.edu/~slg3/tsr9486.pdf
Greatgaunt
Named for the old and respected Cormyrean military family who founded it,1 this fortified town of 4,000-odd folk stands on a rocky plateau overlooking the High Road. It lies on the road's east side just where the road, running north from the Bridge of Fallen Men, first enters the foothills of the Storm Horns. Greatgaunt is notable as the site of the Moon Dance, a monthly gathering of devotees of Selûne that has grown into something of a trade fair and as the home of Tansard Famwell, the Singer Among the Harpies, a youth so skilled that he can offset harpy charming by his singing. An accomplished mimic, Tansard is available for hire as an impersonator. He once played the part of Vangerdahast so well that he almost plunged the war wizards into a scandal. He’s been warned not to repeat similar performances on pain of death for treason or having his vocal cords cut, but there are rumors. . . .
Landmarks
Greatgaunt is dominated by Greatgard, the huge castle that stands at the south end of the walled city, rowning down from the full height of the ramparts and the cliff below at the road. Its walls are crowded with
espringales, catapults, and trebuchets of huge size that can hurl loads of rock for almost a mile along the road south of the town. There are even said to be bombards behind some of the downsloping fire chutes that can rake the ground below the walls. More importantly the town has a long and proud tradition of superb archery, and on duty archers practice shooting at mark poles outside the walls for several hours a day. Defenders on the town walls have been known to shoot attackers who’re so distant that they’re almost at the limits of human sight out of their saddles. Greatgard has held off orc hordes and even Zhentilar attacks. It is growing in importance as a military base as the Tun bandits grow more powerful and Cormyr looks to expand into Tunland. The Greatgaunt family home, Greatgates Manor, stands at the north end of the plateau above a ravine so broken and jagged that no attacking force has ever come from that direction. This small castle boasts magnificent windows on its inner walls that look down into a courtyard. These stained glass windows display the family arms, a righthand gauntlet clutching a dove in its fist. The courtyard holds a fountain enchanted with spells that heat the water to provide hot water year-round and prevent its freezing in winter. It’s known as the Steaming Fountain due to the vapor that streams from it when the air around is cold. Citizens of the town can come to it to draw water at anytime, since the pumps for the deep wells in the market at the other end of town often freeze up in harsh winter storms. Space within the walls is at a premium, and the visitor won’t find many trees. The town is a succession of tall, slate-roofed houses crowded together, wall touching wall, along narrow cobbled lanes. Bronze handrails, green with age, are set into the walls everywhere to allow walkers to use the sloping parts of a street in icy weather. And yes, the children of the town delight in sliding down icy streets at high speed on their backsides or borrowed shields until they crash into a prepositioned bale of straw or a wall, barrel, or cart.
Facing Greatgard across the large open marketplace2 at the south end of town is Moonrise House, the local temple to Selûne. Founded only about a decade ago by a charismatic priestess, the beautiful Marijel Dhallard (formerly of Selgaunt), the temple is fast growing into a force for growth and harmonious living with the cycles of nature in Greatgaunt. The temple also lends support to those who either must or choose to work at night, sleeping the day through. As devout worshipers love the moonlight best, they now make up a substantial portion of the Night Watch3 and the Purple Dragons serving on dark-duty shifts. Selûnians have festivals at every full moon and solemn sacrificial rituals where silver statuettes are melted in flames at every
moondark (new moon). They believe in planting4 and beginning craftwork as the moon waxes, and in cleaning, cooking, and doing chores as the moon wanes. This makes Greatgaunt interesting to visit. Many folk are asleep no matter what the time of day is, the streets are never crowded, and buildings have heavily padded shutters and thick walls to deaden sound, making it a peaceful place for travelers used to the noise and crowding of most walled towns.
Places of Interest in Greatgaunt
Shops
The Shield of Glory - Armor and Weaponry
This well-stocked armor and weaponry shop is just the place for an adventurers or armsmasters to outfit themselves in everything from leather underbreeches to full tourney coat-of-plate. The only arrows in the place are a few incredibly expensive enchanted arrows of slaying. (Other smaller shops in town deal exclusively in bows and arrows.) Almost every other personal weapon or accouterment can be had here. Lances are surprisingly good sellers, and the proprietor, the dwarf armorer Narthalin, is especially proud of his belts of six matched-balance everbright daggers (20 gp a set, firm). Local legend insists that the cellar caverns of the Shield have been used for centuries by the Greatgaunt family as an armory. The caverns are said to include an access gate to an ancient refuge created for the Greatgaunts long ago by the mysterious Sword Heralds. Narthalin refuses to discuss this. It is supposedly also reachable via a certain closet in Greatgard and a hidden passage in Greatgates Manor.
Taverns
The Twelve Dancing Knights
This quaint old tavern’s name is derived from some lines about it in a ballad by the long-dead bard Shalivarr of Iriaebor. The couplet has been ornately carved on a large plaque over the door:
O, twelve bold knights here made merrie, And when they left, a-dancing they be.
Shalivarr’s song refers to some rowdy nobles of early Cormyr. It’s easy to see what they liked about the smoky, warm-hearthed taproom within: plentiful drink served promptly and carefully by handsome men and comely maids, cozy booths adorned with old weapons and battle regalia of the realm, and platters of free hand food on every board. The hand food treats served here include grapes, butter biscuits, wedges of strong cheese, and slices of cold-spiced sausage. The Twelve Dancing Knights is a thoroughly enjoyable, if simple, thirst-slaying house and is highly recommended. Several old, retired miners and soldiers spend days gaming here by the fire. They love to tell stories of mountain lore, dragon treasure, and past battles to those who’ll buy them a pint of bitter black.
Inns
The Old Bucket Drops
The Old Bucket is not a bad inn, but it is a trifle overpriced. No food is served, and the only drink to be had is water from the sewers of wash water in each room. However, for 3 sp you can have a hot bath in your room in a copper carry-tub that has been filled by a line of servants dumping steaming kettles.
1. Greatgaunts are battlemasters and garrison commanders in the Purple Dragons today.
2. It's a livestock fair. Drovers are allowed to camp with their beasts in the center, among much dung and straw, so only a single ring of booths is allowed in the market.
3. The Night Watch is Greatgaunt.s shop and market police force, active only from dusk to dawn. Purple Dragons police the town during the day.
4.Usually in the small roadside fields below the town.
From here: Volo's Guide to Cormyr - web.njit.edu/~slg3/tsr9486.pdf
Maybe it would bring in idea to someone for something to do, especially with things being redone. I'm ok with getting rid of it if it'd lead to confusion.
