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Leonardo & God Forgot


Erol of Backford

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Has anyone identified where Leoardo's Lab is located on a map?

Has anyone run scenarios where PC were sent to the Clanking Ruins and if so what were they looking for?

Is there a map sketch anyone did of his fort?

I thought there was an article in one of the fanzines (other than Tradetalk 12) but cannot find it now...

Leonardo the Scientist: One of the most colorful inhabitants of God Forgot, Leonardo the Scientist can often be seen paddling his way across the sky in his pedalcopter. Leonardo is a bit mad, and he refuses to make more than one of anything. Thus, among the islands lie his armored battle wagon, his kite-shaped parachute glider, and other colorful, unique inventions. (GtG)

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Edited by Erol of Backford
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image.png.a1bce599966c95a86fc905bbd280ac18.png Is his fort where Selgus was or where I placed the red dot further north?

In TT#12 it says the southernmost island at the northwest coast...

From the Library of Lhankor Mhy:

> Kostern also is home to the Jrusteli port of Selgus, a major fleet base
> controlling sea traffic along the coasts and through Troll Strait. I don't
> think that the presence of several thousand Orlanthi and EWF magicians would
> be tolerated by the Jrusteli fleet, nor vice versa. On the other hand, the
> Durengard scroll treats the place as if still intact around 925, 8 years
> after the fall of Locsil. (This doesn't mean that it couldn't have been
> burnt down for a while, and reoccupied after the mostali cursing made the
> bay in Kostern Island's south a cursed area).

image.png.16d6732d5a219df43f5561b6a6a87593.png 

Would it be sandy tidal flats like this picture or would it be rocky as if the Heortland Plateau slowly dies into the ocean as it progresses southernly through God Forgot? 

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6 hours ago, Erol of Backford said:

Would it be sandy tidal flats like this picture or would it be rocky as if the Heortland Plateau slowly dies into the ocean as it progresses southernly through God Forgot? 

I have arrived at a geology resembling that of the Edinburgh coastal area, with sandy tidal flats interrupted by volcanic outgrowths and (along the southern coast somewhat shattered) limestone or deepfer layer bedrock further away from the sea.

We know that the children of Veskarthan were involved with the orogenesis of the Storm Mountains (alongside Tada and Larnste), so having some of them popping up in the region would be logical. Not all children of of the big volcano reachse mountainhood.

The bedrock parts are what was left by Worcha's onslaught, which did carry away a lot of bedrock from where we now find the only moderately deep Rozgali (and further west Solkathi) currents. Some of the missing land/bedrock may be blamed on the Breaking of the World or Chaos eating its way through towards the Spike (see the Slime area on the Trollpak map of the troll battles), but there is a huge ledge before you reach the chasms of the Doom Currents.

Much of Kostern Island and Locsil has underground structures which are possible below the tidal line, but are easier to maintain while remaining above sea level, without the requirement to run huge water sorcery spells to keep from drowning. Leave that to the Mostali. But to me this makes cliffs of clay or of limestone (think Dover, Cape Arkona, or Bornholm) with inlets with dunes and lots of tidal flats around. And that continues up north towards Karse, and east beyond Corflu (there interrupted by the Zola Fel estuary).

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That castle is bigger than I woluld imagine for Leonardo.

I suppose any good sorcerer will want to inhabit a tower rather than a castle. But how much is Leonardo a sorcerer?

Rather than a lab, I see him having a workshop where a few minions operate a bronze (or other metal) foundry, a carpenter's shop, a scriptorium with ink and parchment production, a library, and possibly a windmill or four.

From what I have seen published or suggested for Leonardo's inventions, there are no spells involved in his creations, and that may be how he escapes Mostali ire despite his machine-leaning inventions. We know about his pedalcopter and a few "defensive" inventions. and he is bound to have patrons to whom he delivers semi-practical fulfillment of their requests as long as he can produce some unique solution. Although it is possible that his main sponsor was Belintar, who might have given him a stipend for following his intuition when inventing new stuff, in which case he might run into financial problems any season now, or at least more difficulties in providing material for his inventions.

Leonardo is bound to have some luxuries in his residence, possibly including a water pump for his bath powered by the steps of visitors, an elevator to his observatory, mechanical calculators etc.

I think that a visit to Leonardo's place might bear some similarities to a visit to Gonn Orta's castle, with Leonardo's maiordomo receiving the visitors, making deals or giving out missions much like Boshbisil does for  Gonn Orta's castle.

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On 12/9/2022 at 9:14 AM, Erol of Backford said:

Has anyone identified where Leoardo's Lab is located on a map?

As noted in my Casino Town Rumours, Leonardo's island hideaway is said to be located at Crab Key. I can't locate exactly where that is on a map because his fire breathing metallic turtle keeps the curious away.

DrNoDragon.jpeg.e98d1228adc8b4138ed3cc58dbe01f4e.jpeg

Edited by MOB
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 9 months later...

Tradetalk 12, and also a version in the next book in the Pavis & Big Rubble Companion Director's Cut series.

Totally uncanon, but definitely MGF!

Basically when I wrote my campaign, two of my favourite scenarios by other authors were woven fully in to the plot, and certain story elements hinge on them

These were 'One High Priest Too Many' (the Lunar Coders) and 'Arlaten the Magus' (Arlaten)

However, I am of course writing the new version of the campaign to be useable without requiring any out of print sources. So while I will include all my original ideas, I also have to add in alternatives that require no outside source 

I already have some great extra Lunar antagonists I created in the campaign, and I am finding I can easily expand on them to fill the Coders' roles.

However, I was totally unsure what to do to replace a bizarre foreign sorcerer until I remembered only a few weeks ago (now the writing/editing is approaching that stage in the campaign) that I wrote a chunky article on Leonardo many years back

So yep, he is being written in to Vol. 04 as the alternative character to use if GMs don't own Strangers in Prax (or as an option to be added if they do) :)

The original article will stay much the same, except of course expanded with some bizarre explanation of how he has turned up for an extended stay in Old Pavis! (I'm not even sure of the timeline fits properly, but that's not a factor in the creative choice.)

And his new role will be written into the scenarios themselves (alongside options for using Arlaten instead, or using them both)

 

 

Edited by Ian A. Thomson
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------------------------------------

Former Issaries Inc. 'Pavis Expert'

Some of my creations and co-creations: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?keyword=Ian Thomson 

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4 hours ago, Ian A. Thomson said:

So yep, he is being written in to Vol. 04 as the alternative character to use if GMs don't own Strangers in Prax (or as an option to be added if they do) 🙂

I'd recommend he have a villa of sorts connected via tunnels to the Dwarven tunnels? Maybe the cavern opens up like in You Only Live Twice? Maybe it's in the Puzzle Canal!? (that might be weird)

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For me he's a sorcerer supreme (looks like Cumberbatch) who tinkers and could even teleport between God Forgot and the Rubble but of course no one knows about this ability or where the homing circles are nor how to use them. IIRC the scenario Wet & Wild in Seapolis (TotRM 17 p.14) has some portable folding homing circles that he could have and use that he carries around with him?

image.png.81b0d83cac3a7bc8d688b38fee5f79df.png

He probably has somewhere to fly in and out of that is secret... well maybe he's Batman and not Dr. Strange?

It would be good to have him there from say 1600 or before but that's me, though I don't know when he appears in Pavis in your mind... He landed in God Forgot in 1560 so there is plenty of time for him to scout the Rubble and find a vacation home. Maybe he hires adventurers to find and clean out a place but rather they discover him...

Actually and even better he could be the Man Who Walked With Pavis from VOL 01 p.52? Turn that into a scenario, does he time travel? Maybe he sends the PC's to retrieve his flying device that he crash landed in the mountains above Dorastor Land of Doom p.104.

image.png.1f045f280c5966a94196fe02260533f7.png

He likes Dwarves or so I assume, there is one in his workshop with a tin leg?

Did you look at the Rough Guide to Pavis City? It has great info on the year 894 environs... wait, you wrote that?!

Maybe he finds the subterranean levels of the Central Wizard's Tower to his liking? (#59 p.34) There are some troll squatters and he either has them driven out and or hires them as guards of sorts? Maybe he's actually a closet Black Arkati and is the half brother of Urvantan from Smoking Ruins and yes of course there is a gate like in Urvantan's Tower... this would make him be more sociable with trolls I am guessing?

If the Central Wizard's Tower is to hot of an area and he isn't an Arkati and doesn't wish to study them then he'd be in the ruins of the tower on Magician's Hill maybe?

As it's not noted where he's from it could be his ancestors were in Pavis and when it was in its heyday, he was out east for a bit and moved to God's Forgot just before the opening?

 There are 1000's of possibilities here.  

Edited by Erol of Backford
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A powerful sorcerer researching concentrations of magical energy would have plenty of reason to visit Pavis. Might even be on commission from the Lunars. Of course, playing with such energies might be akin to dancing wildly in an electrical substation. All sorts of ways such a character might fail to be present during Argrath’s liberation of Pavis.

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33 minutes ago, EricW said:

A powerful sorcerer researching concentrations of magical energy

Yup. My background sense is that he is one of few people who has the luxury to go on research expeditions for lengths of time. I will revert to canon though by having him depart Pavis when the Windstop hits. He just needs to be around long enough to fill the places in a few scenarios where Arlaten was a friend and sponsor

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Former Issaries Inc. 'Pavis Expert'

Some of my creations and co-creations: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?keyword=Ian Thomson 

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We can assume that God Forgot has a small collection of centuries-old sorcerers like Carvak Zirian.

Most will be enmeshed in ongoing research or practical project of theirs, or paying off their sponsors with some trivial magics that keep interfering with their projects.

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On 12/10/2022 at 1:57 AM, Joerg said:

I have arrived at a geology resembling that of the Edinburgh coastal area, with sandy tidal flats interrupted by volcanic outgrowths and (along the southern coast somewhat shattered) limestone or deeper layer bedrock further away from the sea.

I had to add that we were in Edinburgh last spring. We really enjoyed the Firth of Forth Bridge (was on my bucket list) the tidal flats make sense.

5 hours ago, Joerg said:

Most will be enmeshed in ongoing research or practical project of theirs, or paying off their sponsors with some trivial magics that keep interfering with their projects.

I would imagine that the sorcerers are the landowners/nobles of God Forgot rather than being sponsored. Some of them are actually almost immortal are they not?

With revenue from the land, its occupants they would decide what projects are funded or not rather than paying sponsors... or so it would seem.

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