[Sword Coast Legends] Building Criollo, Part 1

While it will still be a two weeks or so until Sword Coast Legends is formally released, that shouldn't stop me from doing some prep work. While ultimately I want to use it for my own setting Urbis, it is at the moment unclear when the tools I would need for that will be released - or, indeed, whether such tools will be released at all.

But I enjoy the Forgotten Realms in their own right, and I suspect I will enjoy creating modules for them as well. And to start with, I need a "hub town" - a place from where the initial quests start and where the player characters can go to sell their loot. I don't want to use an established town, since that might conflict with both the single-player campaign and the modules of other DMs, so I will create an entirely new one.

The first question is where to place it on the map. Since I don't want to deviate from Realmslore too much, I want to place it in a region where adding another town would not be surprising. This rules out much of the northern Savage Frontier, since every isle of civilization is notable there (plus, I suspect that this will likely be a very popular region for modules by other DMs). Thus, I will pick a place on the other end of the map - north of the Cloud Peaks, on the Trade Way between Beregost and Amn.

What associations does "Amn" trigger? Well, way back before the Spellplague, Amn had some colonies in Maztica, a pseudo-mesoamerican continent whose concept I was rather fond of (even if the execution of the concept could have been better). Some Amnian mercenaries pulled a Cortez-style invasion in 1361 DR, and had a very profitable thing going until 1385 DR, when the whole continent was switched with Laerakond/Returned Abeir. The continents presumably returned to their original place during the Sundering, though there is no real confirmation beyond noting the presence of Maztica in the 5E Dungeon Master's Guide. I haven't been able to dig up a date for the Sundering either, although Sword Coast Legends will take place in the year 1494. So it's not yet clear how long ago Maztica has returned.

(As a side note, while I am not a fan of the 100 year time jump after the Spellplague and the 3E campaign setting remains my favorite incarnation of the Forgotten Realms, I do think an examination of the hybrid culture that may have developed on Maztica during its absence would be absolutely fascinating. A Mesoamerican-style culture that has access to Renaissance-era technological knowledge - as well as arcane magic - imported from the pseudo-Europeans but can no longer be colonized by them would certainly in interesting ways, and that doesn't even touch any interactions with the dragon overlords of Abeir. But I digress...).

Back to the immediate aftermath of the Spellplague. Suddenly, Amn has lost access to its very profitable colonies - as well as their cash crops. To compensate, they will likely attempt to plant these crops at home. Maize should grow very well in Amn, as it does in Europe of our own world. I am not sure whether potatoes were ever "alien" to Faerun the way they were alien to Europe, so I will ignore that for the time being. However, another crop is highly interesting - cocoa. As any chocoholic will know, it is a highly sought-after substance and thus very valuable to mercantile interests - which Amn has in spades.

Which brings us back to our hub town. The Amnian government might very well attempt to create a monopoly on the cocoa trade - and it is almost inevitable that some people will attempt to break that monopoly by planting cocoa outside of Amn - such as the northern foothills of the Cloud Peaks. While in our world cocoa will only grow near the equator, the Forgotten Realms certainly have access to plant magics that should compensate for the relative cold. And if wizards can create owlbears, then adjusting crops to a different climate should not be a major challenge.

This also gives me the name for my hub town - Criollo, after one of the subtypes of cocoa plants. We will assume that the town has seen its ups and downs over the years. It will likely have had repeated problems with Amn, which doesn't want the competition and will use means fair and foul to shut it down.

And of course - as it was later discovered - the town was built on top of assorted ruins and dungeons, because this is the Forgotten Realms and they all are. But I will leave detailing them to a later date.

But before I conclude this entry, let me come up with one more Maztica association for the town. One of its residents is someone who claims to be the last descendant of the ruler of Payit before Maztica was spirited away, and he asks for monetary assistance from wealthy-looking individuals (such as adventurers) so that he can mount an expedition to now-returned Maztica and reclaim the throne that is rightfully his.

Of course it's a scam, but I will need to figure out some way of making this NPC more interesting than just attempting to take the PCs' money...

[Pathfinder] Class-based Worldbuilding

My long-time readers know that I like random generators for worldbuilding. Those who have bought and read my Doomed Slayers setting also know that I like to give "adventurers" a proper social context - why and how they exist within a fantasy society, and how the rest of society interacts with and views them.

So why not go a step further? In many games with "character classes", such as Pathfinder, the classes are often something of an abstraction which might not have a clearly defined counterpart within society. Normal people might not see much of a difference between a sorcerer, a wizard, or a witch - or a cleric, druid, or oracle. But what if that is not the case? What if particular classes have clearly defined roles in society which everyone recognizes, even if they don't understand the deeper mystery of the class?

Of course, trying to come up with a social role for each Pathfinder class and for each society within your world would represent enormous effort for possibly little gain. But by selecting a few classes for each society - let's say three - and working out what they mean within the context of their culture, we can focus on what makes a particular society distinct. And after that, if a player selects a particular class for their character, it will have some immediate associations with a particular culture which will shape other people's interaction with them.

So, how does this work? Start by rolling (1d4-1)x10+1d10 (that is, generate a random number from 1 to 40) three times and consulting the following table:

1: Barbarian
2: Bard
3: Cleric
4: Druid
5: Fighter
6: Monk
7: Paladin
8: Ranger
9: Rogue
10: Sorcerer
11: Wizard
12: Alchemist
13: Cavalier
14: Gunslinger
15: Inquisitor
16: Magus
17: Oracle
18: Summoner
19: Witch
20: Ninja
21: Samurai
22: Arcanist
23: Bloodrager
24: Brawler
25: Hunter
26: Investigator
27: Shaman
28: Skald
29: Slayer
30: Swashbuckler
31: Warpriest
32: Kineticist
33: Medium
34: Mesmerist
35: Occultist
36: Psychic
37: Spiritualist
38-39: Roll for a random prestige class
40: Roll twice

Currently there are 86 prestige classes listed in the Pathfinder SRD. I will leave choosing randomly between then as an exercise to the reader.

Next, if the class in question has archetypes or some forms of "specialization" (such as the arcane schools of wizards), check if all members of that class have a shared status within the society or if only particular archetypes or specializations are held in prominence. Roll 1d10:

1-6: All members of the class share the same status.
7-8: One archetype/specialization is prominent.
9: Two archetypes/specializations are prominent.
10: Three archetypes/specializations are prominent.

Choose randomly between the available archetypes and/or specializations.

Finally, roll 1d4 to determine what the overall status of that class is within the culture in question:

1: Adored. The class is part of the ruling elite, "living saints", or held otherwise in great esteem.
2: Respected. The class may not be part of the elite, but they are generally at least "middle class" or otherwise well-paid professionals.
3: Disdained. Few members of "polite society" will openly admit to doing business with them, but the services of the class are too useful to be ignored.
4: Reviled. No citizen of good standing will even look at them - they might be untouchable or otherwise not protected by the law. Killing them will frequently not have any legal consequences, and might even be seen as a laudable act in extreme cases. However, the class might not be defenseless (few player character classes are), and they usually band together and take care of their own - they might not ever be able to gain respect, but their more powerful members can gain the fear of others. Perhaps they also band together as secret societies, so that nobody will know they have learned the abilities of the class in question.

There should probably be at least one class which is Respected or Adored - if all your results are 3 or 4, repeat the rolls until you get a 1 or 2.

So, let's try this out! Rolling on the table three times, we get:

• Mesmerist, all Mesmerists, Disdained
• Hunter, all Hunters, Reviled
• Inquisitor, Vampire Hunter only, Adored

What have we here? Well, this particular region suffered a major plague of vampires in a frontier area. The vampires infiltrated and took over several of the hunting lodges during their reign of terror, and it took an order of vampire hunters to break their power - these vampire hunters are now hailed as the saviors of the country, and many children want to join them when they grow up. Meanwhile, the remaining hunting lodges are suspected of harboring vampires - not entirely without cause in a few cases. Those who have managed to stave off the vampires are now trying to restore their reputation and destroying the remaining vampire-infected lodges, but many survivors have just given up and moved to other lands where they face less suspicion. Meanwhile, mesmerists are now popular as "vampire detectors" - since they know very well how mind control works, they are among the first who can detect vampiric influence in others. They are still seen with a lot of suspicion from the population, but their services are too useful to be ignored.

And another example:

• Wizard, Familiar Adept, Exploiter Wizard, Arcane School of Air, Reviled
• Medium, all Mediums, Disdained
• Samurai, all Samurai, Adored

In this feudal land, there are none more respected than the warriors who swear fealty to a lord and live and die for him. They guard the land vigilantly against its many enemies - foremost among those are the Cloud Wizards who dwell on remote mountaintops, fly through the air, and bring bad weather and bad fortune as everyone knows. Furthermore, the warriors know that as long as they face battle and death bravely, they are assured a honored place among their ancestors. No one doubts this publicly, for to doubt is shameful. However... doubts remain. And thus, many - perhaps even most warriors - secretly consult mediums to contact their ancestors and ease their doubts. If the ancestors are pleased with the warrior, they will tell him through the medium. If they are not pleased, they will tell the warrior how to atone for their failings so that they can restore their honor before passing on to the other side. The mediums, in turn, are well paid for this service - as long as they never talk of it and do not draw attention to their presence - for if it were known that a medium was part of a lord's household, it would mean that the lord would doubt.

Your thoughts?


EDIT: On some further thought, it's probably a good idea improve the odds that a certain class is at least respected. Thus, change the die roll for determining the social status of the class to 1d6:

1: Adored
2-4: Respected
5: Disdained
6: Reviled

[Campaign Idea] Eberron - The Moiras Foundation

Another campaign idea for Eberron which I would like to run one day (compare with Morgrave University Archaeologists).

During the Last War, Moiras d'Cannith became very, very rich thanks to the numerous magical constructs he sold to the Five Nations - but the devastation he saw during the war made him restless. He researched the Draconic Prophecies and was plagued by dreams of doom. When, at the end of the war, the proud nation of Cyre was destroyed in a single day through a magical cataclysm, he became convinced that the end of the world was a very real possibility. He spent the last two years of his life traveling to distant countries in order to learn more about possible threats to the world - and his will established the creation of a foundation which would allow others to do the same.

The player characters have been selected by the newly-established Board of the Moiras Foundation. They receive a generous stipend, room and board in the mansion at the outskirts of Wroat (the capital of Breland) which serves as the headquarters of the Foundation, as well as free travel with all regular Orien lightning rail and caravans and Lyrandar ships (second class only). In exchange, they are obligated to research the Draconic Prophecy as well as any groups and powers that might pose a threat to the safety of the world - and, if possible, thwart their schemes (although their primary mission is to gather information). Such groups include (but are not limited to) the Cults of the Dragon Below, the Lords of Dust, the Children of Winter, as well as other groups that seem rather suspicious and secretive (like the Blood of Vol).

The actions of the player characters - and any other agents of the Foundation - are reviewed at least annually by the Board if they are making a good efforts towards these goals, and if they fail to make a satisfactory account of their actions, they might be kicked out. Apart from that, they are free to set their own priorities on how to tackle those goals, although individual members of the Board sometimes pass on hints on suggestions on what kinds of activities they would consider to be worthwhile.

Of course, while the stipend and the other perks are sweet, this job comes with quite a few enemies. All these cults, for example, will object most violently to their activities getting exposed. Furthermore, the three surviving splinter groups of House Cannith would love to get their hands on the Moiras inheritance to help rebuild their House, and will fight the Foundation in the courts, in the eyes of public opinion (especially if the PCs mess up), and possibly through more underhanded means. Finally, the members of the Board might have their own hidden agendas which are not necessarily the same as that of the Foundation - what if an agent of the Aurum sits on the Board? Or of the Chamber?


Basically, this campaign framework is my excuse for running Call of Cthulhu-esque adventures in Eberron, while also providing a framework why player characters would participate in such adventures again and again. In fact, this was based on a similar framework for 1920s Call of Cthulhu which I saw on a website somewhere (unfortunately, I lost the link), and I figure it was well worth stealing for Eberron, with some further modifications to suit the setting.

[Exalted] Gankorou's Freehold

Ah, Gankorou - possibly my favorite NPC in my old Exalted campaign. A Fair Folk noble, he was the first major personality the PCs encountered as they ventured into Creation. He had abducted a number of villagers and dream-eaten then, and the PCs were sufficiently heroic that they demanded that they marched right into his Freehold, demanded that he handed them back and cease preying on the villagers.

Gankorou, of course, was delighted that a bunch of Solars were coming to visit him and quickly agreed to this, provided that one of them could defeat him in a duel. The Twilight accepted (they didn't have a Dawn Caste Solar at the time, and the Twilight was always the biggest twink in the group) and soundly defeated him. Then Gankorou - true to his work - handed his captives over and closed the doors of his Freehold after them. Then they discovered that the victims were dream-eaten, and what that meant.

Then, about two months later when the Night Caste was sneaking around the City of the Steel Lotus, she stumbled across Gankorou again - who was delighted to see her, and was very helpful all of a sudden. From there, he became a recurring NPC whose exploits included the following:

• Tricking the PCs into allowing him to ravage the Temperance from every inhabitant of the Jade Plum Citadel.
• Schemed his way into marrying Princess Midnight Pearl of the Jade Plum Citadel (who had previously been the lover of the Zenith Caste and was pregnant with his child) and becoming the new ruler of the city.
• After being bound by lengthy Eclipse-enforced oaths into actually doing a good job in ruling the city, he committed suicide by sufficiently provoking the Night Caste during a government meeting into killing him while the Eclipse and the Twilight attempted to protect him. This subsequently pushed her into Limit Break and probably caused the biggest intra-party conflict in the entire campaign. It was the way he had wanted to go.
• He then got his posthumous revenge on the Night Caste by naming her his successor in his will, a post she absolutely didn't wanted because she was terrified about having to rule others, but which everyone else from the Golden Lord down agreed was a good idea.

The visual design of the character, the initial personality, and of course the name of the character were inspired by the Count from Gankutuou, an anime retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

This guy.

Of course, the character evolved considerably from its origin throughout the campaign. And my version was not motivated out of a desire for the most fiendish revenge possible, but provoking the Solar protagonists for the Lulz - which is a rather typical stance for Fair Folk nobles. The trick, of course, is how to continue provoking Solars and living to enjoy the experience again and again - and, like the Count, Gankorou was very adept at seeming very helpful and friendly while he plotted to stab you in the back. It's a testament to his skill - and his entertainment value within the campaign - that he lasted as long as he did.

I had established that he feeds on Temperance, although I do no longer remember his original caste. Looking at the possible combinations in Graceful Wicked Masques, a Panjandrum (a Shadowed Diplomat who also feeds on Conviction) seems like the most appropriate - he was a proper little rules lawyer.

However, what he lacked in the original campaign is a proper entourage - he is the lord of a Freehold, after all - and I want to rectify that. From what I remember, his Freehold had the appearance of a crystal cave (let's make it a Level 2 Earth Demesne, which means that the cave complex is about 200 yards across). I also remember that he had blue hobgoblin hounds. But what else is in his lair? Let's consult my old favorite, the Random Nations Generator, to find out.

For government, we get Ethnocracy, meaning that one of the groups of Fair Folk living in the Freehold is lording it over the others - presumably with Gankorou's consent, who might style himself the Lord Protector of his Freehold, instead of the ruler. He might even arrange for semi-regular changes in who the current ruling faction is, for his own amusement. One of the factions are obviously the Hounds, but who are the others?

For organizations, we get the Skull and Bones society - so let's say that there is a group that serves actual skulls, claiming the skulls to be their honored ancestors. This is nonsense, of course - but the skulls say so too, and would you argue with a talking skull? We also get the Order of the Veiled Prophet, so there is another group of Fair Folk who wears veils all the time. They are not actually wearing veils in order to hide their faces - it's veils all the way down.

Among the major personalities, we get Agnes of Rome. Considering how the relics of Catholics were worshiped, the "Skull of Holy Agira" might be the center of worship for the local chapter of the Church of Balor - Agira being one of the Fair Folk who were allegedly killed during the crusade. She and some other skulls of "lesser" saints hold court in the local chapel. Another entry is Théodore Géricault - and an artist who is famous for painting pictures of human suffering and insanity is going to fit right in with a Fair Folk freehold. "Thericalt", then, is the leader of the Veiled Ones - whose purpose in life is Art, and who require a steady stream of human subjects for their Art.

Thus, the Veiled Ones are the "official" leaders of the Freehold (as opposed to the true leader, which is Gankorou). They oppress the other Commoner Rakshas, who find solace with Agira and the Church of Balor, and send out the Hounds in order to retrieve more art subjects. Both Agira and Thericalt are Commoners as well - albeit Heroic ones with more self-awareness than the others.

While a human settlement would deserve further details from the Random Nations Generator, this is probably enough for our purposes - after all, this is not a real settlement, just an facsimile of one that exists for Gankorou's entertainment. So all that remains to do is to place the cave on the map. Since I want it to be fairly close to the Emergence Cave and in the "natural" traveling direction of the PCs (that is, towards the Jade Plum Citadel), I will place it at <5,9>.

Expanding the Random Nations Generator

I've mentioned both the Arcana Wiki and its Random Nations Generator before - in fact, I have used the latter fairly frequently for building anything from small villages to entire planets.

The Random Nations Generator is still a work in progress, however - and it always will be, since it uses Arcana Wiki entries as "feed" for its random entries. And it is easy to expand the feed by writing new Arcana Wiki entries and giving them the appropriate tags. That being said, it's probably a good idea to take stock of the current situation and see what is in the most need of expansion. This is also intended as a guide to other volunteers who wish to contribute to the wiki.

Government: Currently at 19 entries, which isn't bad - but looking at the page with the list of governments, there are lots of very iconic government types still missing. Could use some work.

Powerful Organizations: Currently only 39, which is too few since there tend to be a lot more of those than there are types of government in a single nation. The potential variety of organizations is staggering - what should be added next here?

Major Personalities: Currently at 60, which provides more variety than for organizations. Still, if you use the generator often enough the entries will get repetitive.

Major Political Issues: With 142 entries, this category is not an immediate concern - although more entries are always appreciated.

Major Projects: On the other hand, this category has only 40 entries, which is not nearly enough.

Type of Economy: And this has only 10 entries, which is far too few. Unfortunately, I am also unqualified to expand much on this.

Trade goods: Here the picture is mixed.

• Raw Resources: 15 entries.
• Pre-industrial trade goods: 96 entries.
• Modern trade goods: 109 entries.
• Science Fiction trade goods: 57 entries.
• Fantasy trade goods: 33 entries.

So while pre-industrial, modern, and science fiction trade goods are doing okay, fantasy trade goods and especially raw resources could use some major expansion.

Forms of Worship: 32 entries - not too bad, but there are so many different forms of worship out there that there is lots of room for expansion.

Worshiped Entities: 43 entries - and considering all the deities and entities that were worshiped throughout history, this definitely needs expansion.

Major Races/Species: 23 is far too few for such a vast topic, considering all the depictions of sapient creatures throughout history.

Significant Creatures: With 118 entries, we are on much firmer ground here.

Cultural Influences: While we are on safe ground with 92 entries, the problem is that most of these entries are merely "stubs" - largely empty pages for individual countries without any background information.

Historic Events: While 45 entries isn't bad, it could be better.

Dominant Terrain: While 27 entries is not a large number, I don't think this is much of a problem since this is one category where it is okay that entries come up frequently.

Famous Locations: With 177 entries, we have a very nice selection already. Still, the more the merrier...

To sum it up, the main categories that need expansion in my opinion are Powerful Organizations, Major Projects, Raw Resources, Type of Economy, and Major Races/Species. Less urgent, but also in need of expansion are Government, Major Personalities, Forms of Worship, Worshiped Entities, and Historic Events.

I will probably tackle Powerful Organizations and Major Projects by going through the archives of the Suppressed Transmissions Community. Is anyone willing to tackle the other categories?

GURPS Numenera - some conversion notes

I like the setting of Monte Cook's Numenera - it's science-fantasy atmosphere in an impossible distant future built on the ruins of many prior civilizations scratches a lot of itches for me. However, I am not particularly fond of the Cypher system it makes use of. Going into my full list of issues with the system is beyond the scope of this blog post, so let me just focus on one aspect: I find the system for character creation and growth too limiting.

Yes, I am aware that the descriptor/type/focus split allows for a lot of possible combination, but in the end it still locks you into a fairly rigid level and advancement system - but if any setting should allow for totally wild character archetypes, it's Numenera! What if you want to specialize in stuff that's covered by a focus? Or a particular set of skills? Or want to combine powers of two foci? Or want to play a visitant (non-human) who also has a focus?

Which is where GURPS, my favorite system comes in - providing these options becomes ridiculously easy.

The Powers

The base for our Numenera conversion becomes the "Powers" system from GURPS Powers, which provides "ready-made" packages of advantages which can be taken individually and modified further with enhancements and limitations. For example, the "Cold/Ice" and the "Heat/Fire" powers both have the "Innate Attack" advantage listed, but the form these attacks take will obviously be different for both powers - with the "Cold/Ice" power, you might throw around icicles or just cool down the body temperature of your opponent, causing internal damage, while with the "Heat/Fire" power you could project a jet of flame or be wreathed in an aura of fire - all these and many more can be specified in GURPS, and this kind of variety is also true for many other advantages in the system.

The following powers from GURPS Powers are suitable for Numenera:

Air, Animal Control, Anti-Psi*, Astral Projection, Bioenergy, Body Alteration, Body Control, Cold/Ice, Darkness, Death, Dimension Travel, Earth, Electricity, Electrokinesis, ESP, Force Constructs, Gravity, Healing, Heat/Fire, Illusion, Kinetic Energy, Life, Light, Machine Telepathy, Magnetism, Matter Control, Plant Control, Probability Alteration, Psychokinesis, Radiation, Sound/Vibration, Spirit Control**, Telepathy, Teleportation, Vampirism, Water, Weather Control

*There should also be an equivalent "Anti-Dimensional" power which blocks entities from and access to other dimensions.
** "Spirit Control" here means the "spirits" of the Datasphere, the global information network that spans the planet.

The Time Mastery power would also be genre-appropriate for Numenera, but the GM might not be willing to open that particular can of worms.

The "Phasing" and "Speed" powers from GURPS Supers are also available.

The Power Modifiers

Each Power in GURPS also has a so-called "Power Modifier", which specifies the source of the power in question - which also usually specifies the weaknesses this power has.

The following Power Modifiers from GURPS Powers are appropriate:

Biological, Chi, Psionic, Spirit

Again, "Spirit" means beseeching or manipulating the entities of the Datasphere.

The following Power Modifiers from GURPS Supers are also available:

Electronic, Mechanical, Mutant, Nanotech, Savant

Finally, I would also introduce a "Dimensional" Power Modifier for powers which work by accessing other dimensions, which can be blocked via both special advantages and skills (like a "Anti-Dimensional" power) and special technology, form a total modifier of -10%.

Putting it together

Let's say a character wants to grow some claws for close combat. Is it some kind of inborn biological process? Then he uses the Body Alteration power with the Biological modifier, or possibly Mutant. Do nanites emerge from his body and reshape his hand? Also Body Alteration, but this time with Nanotech. Has he just trained so extensively with that secret order of monks that he can use his life energies to make his hands work like claws? Then it's Bioenergy or Body Control with the Chi limitation. Each starts with the same base effect - Claws - but each approach is different with its own strengths and weaknesses, and each suggests different themes for further powers of the character.

The GM might initially limit PCs to one power source, or two. Learning how to access new power types and power sources can be the focus of entire adventures or campaign arcs - but it's possible in GURPS, unlike in the Cypher system where your focus will never change.

[Exalted] Emergence Cave

Let's begin with our exploration of An-Teng's High Lands! The obvious starting point is the cave where the player characters emerge into Creation.

This "cave" is actually the hidden place of one of the five component souls of Yaldabaoth - the one Primordial that "went missing" after the Primordial War and didn't reveal itself during the First Age (unlike the one that triggered the Aftershock War, as described in Dreams of the First Age). Each of the component souls is half in Creation and half on Earth - the Primordial couldn't transfer its entire Essence to Earth, since it would starve there, but this arrangement ensured it still received sufficient energy from the machine that is Creation while minimizing its actual presence there - thus protecting it from the searching eyes of the Solar host. Each of the component souls was "buried" in a different direction of Creation, and this is the Southern location.

And it would still be completely hidden, if not for the work of the Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils - who discovered the Eastern component when it became part of a Shadowland and started meddling with it (turning it into the Well of Udr). This has poisoned Yaldabaoth, and now the component souls can be detected during the five days of Calibration - in this case, the tunnel has a vaguely "techno-organic" look to it. Naturally, the PCs will emerge on the very last day of Calibration, and only if they return during the next Calibration will they be able to learn anything of this place - if they think of it.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to discuss how the "laws of physics" of both Creation and Earth interact. The Exalted developers have stated that they are strongly different in their vision of the setting, which is why you can't just develop Earth technology in Creation. However, I want to take a different approach for this campaign, for consistency's sake - while Creation is an artificial construct within the Wyld, its laws are largely patterned after that of the physical universe - since that's where the Primordials originally came from. So yes, you probably could reinvent Earth technology in Creation - or bring such technology through a gate. Straightforward mechanical devices will fare better than complex electronics though, since everything inanimate that comes to Creation will attract a Small God in fairly short order - and that might have... interesting consequences for things like smart phones and the like. Creation-based artifacts, on the other hand, take the Small Gods into account.

On Earth, on the other hand, artifacts brought from Creation will work, since they bring their Small Gods with them - but creating them on Earth is more difficult, since there aren't any Small Gods around. Thus, you will need to substitute something for them - the Dowager uses human souls, of course, and she has been busy infiltrating the American military-industrial complex...

An added problem is that it is harder to respire Essence - after all, getting access to more Essence was the main reason why the Primordials shaped Creation in the first place! For the time being, I will assume that any beings which can respire Essence in Creation will recover it on Earth at half the normal rate. Heartstones will work normally, though - bring a few before heading there!

But back to the Emergence Cave. I was fairly vague about the location in my old campaign, but looking at the map I've decided to put it at <6,9>.

That's a fairly remote location, away from major settlements and the trade route to the Lap (which follows the river to the north that flows through <7,6>. It also has a clear path for the PCs to follow - they can just walk downriver until they reach the Jade Plum Citadel at <1,8>, where they will likely head so that they can learn more about this world. And on the way, I can place some showcase locations and encounters to emphasize how this world differs from Earth...