[Urbis] Locations of the Cold Frontier - Old Far Coast Enclave, Part I

Coastal Tribe legend states that long ago some of their own built large boats and journeyed far to the south where they discovered a new land - the continent known to the Flannish Cities as the Far Coast. There they built vast empires, and eventually trade links were established. One of these empires established a enclave on the shores of the Cold Frontier - to serve as an embassy for diplomacy, and as a place to conduct trade. When the Great Darkness struck, some but not all members of the enclave were able to flee to the oceans. There they convinced some of the other refugees to sail south with them, and they were never heard from again.

The ruins of the enclave remain, however. Which means it is time to detail our very first dungeon, and it's Aztec-themed to boot!

The spiritual heart of the enclave is a temple complex built into the volcano at the coast. The main building at the entrance is a flat-topped pyramid, with tunnels reaching through the side of the volcano until a chamber opens up to the caldera itself, overlooking the lava from high above. It is here that their priests carved out the hearts of their sacrifical victims and threw them into the volcano. A skull rack with the victims can be found nearby. A spirit lingers in these halls and whispers to trespassers that they, too, should sacrifice living beings in its name.

There is a ruined mansion - a minature "palace" - which served as the main embassy. There will be heavily damaged murals showing the generosity and bravery of the Far Coast people - sending boats full of food, doing battle near the White City against the abominations from the crater, meeting the court at the City On The Waters. The Far Coast people will always be depicted as taller and with more splendid clothing (adorned with feathers) than the natives. This will provide some more clues that something strange was going on in the far north

There are some hot springs next to the palace which are not in as pristine condition as at the First City Spa to the north, but they could still be restored to a decent bath without too much effort. There is also an old ball court which is now completely overgrown.

A female weeping ghost dressed in white haunts the ruins at night, lamenting the loss of her children.

Treasures the explorers can find include the following:

• Sealed pottery containing dried beans, cocoa beans, grounded cocoa powder, maize, honey, or tobacco.
• Ceremonial obsidian knife (with a +3 Accuracy enchantment limited to hitting the vitals, a +1 Puissance enchantment, and the Shatterproof enchantment) and bowl (for holding the heart).
• Assorted jewelry.
• A codex - an accordeon-like book made out of deerskin in a sealed container. Contains a number of Animal spells, with the pinnacle spell being Shapeshifting (Jaguar).
• An ixiptla or "God Disguise" - an outfit (including headband, earrings etc.) representing one of the old Far Coast deities. The wearer will be able to invoke various magical powers but may find his personality subtle changed towards that of the deity while wearing the items.

That's it for a first, short brainstorming. As always, additional suggestions are welcome.


Note: A list of all Urbis-related posts can be found here.