Castle Xyntillan

[squeen]

The positive reviews for Melan's Castle Xyntillan keep coming.

Here's one that gives nice feedback regarding layout innovations:

grodog's review

It sounds like Melan may have pulled off what nearly all DM's aspire to --- releasing a quality version of his home campaign's mega-dungeon. Bravo!

I am on self-imposed "short rations" with regards to RPG spending (for the immediate future), otherwise he'd already have my order.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

I trust this one is on the review list Bryce?

 

[bryce0lynch]

I literally just got my copy in the mail an hour ago.

 

[bryce0lynch]

And stayed up all night rereading it. And wrote a review this morning. Easily, EASILY a 10. It seems effortless in its execution.

 

[Chainsaw]

Melan does reliably superb work, but I am resisting reading my copy because a friend in town may run it for me in the next few months. Fingers crossed.

 

[TerribleSorcery]

I am partway through reading my copy. Bryce is right - effortless execution. It just flows, seems natural and each piece fits in its proper place. I have not had to go "huh?" and flip pages back and forth even once. It just straight up WORKS. I thought about writing a bigass review, but Bryce covers it.

 

[squeen]

Just received my copy by post yesterday. It's absolutely gorgeous in print. I highly recommend the print-version to all.

Wonderful job, Melan!

 

[The1True]

It was an amazing read. There is an absolute TON of stuff to do in there! This is easily one of my favourite adventures in a long long time.

Only one gripe: Can someone ( @Melan ?) explain to me in three dimensional terms how a dome is supposed to fit over F1 Grand Dining Hall? Usually the room below a dome is similarly round in shape. Do those rectangular walls go all the way up to the roof of the dome? Is the ceiling not domed at all, leaving an unmapped, domed space above the dining hall? Also, somewhere in the Gothic Wing I think is a secret trap door up to an undefined attic (?) space. I'm trying to parse that with the geometric shape of the building and failing as well.

Also also, is there even a rough map of the local environs? I'd love to understand how that lake fits around the building...

(I'm a big fan of building stuff in 3D to give my players an idea what they're headed into...)

 

[EOTB]

It was an amazing read. There is an absolute TON of stuff to do in there! This is easily one of my favourite adventures in a long long time.

Only one gripe: Can someone ( @Melan ?) explain to me in three dimensional terms how a dome is supposed to fit over F1 Grand Dining Hall? Usually the room below a dome is similarly round in shape. Do those rectangular walls go all the way up to the roof of the dome? Is the ceiling not domed at all, leaving an unmapped, domed space above the dining hall? Also, somewhere in the Gothic Wing I think is a secret trap door up to an undefined attic (?) space. I'm trying to parse that with the geometric shape of the building and failing as well.

Also also, is there even a rough map of the local environs? I'd love to understand how that lake fits around the building...

(I'm a big fan of building stuff in 3D to give my players an idea what they're headed into...)

 

[The1True]

Yeah but no because:



You can see the footprint of the dome here over the Grand Dining Hall. Do the walls of the Office and Steward's Room go right up to the domed ceiling? You can put a dome within a rectangular shape as illustrated in the depressingly islamified Haggia Sophia pic above, but it doesn't work when the dome is bigger than the rectangular rooms beneath...

 

[Beoric]

Just curious, are all the Spanish mosques that were converted into churches "depressingly Christianized"?

 

[The1True]

It's depressing because it's the politically motivated action of an out of control, cynically non-secular demagogue who's going to tip us all into an ugly war any day now. I can see how that came off as an unintentional dog whistle though.

but sure, there's a strong argument that just about anything thumped by organized religion is depressing...

Well there, I just blew my political/cultural subterfuge budget for the month. Let's go back to talking about how this dome is fukt...

 

[squeen]

Maybe referring to this.

 

[The1True]

Yeah, sorry. I wasn't talking about events in the 15th century. One way or the other though, I dragged politics into it like an ass and now I'll never get my architectural questions answered

 

[Beoric]

You would need a way to bear the load of the dome. It touches walls at several points, it might work if those points were load bearing.

And I think I get what you're saying now, and would agree if what you meant was ... er, maybe we shouldn't talk about populism either.

 

[EOTB]

Reduce the circumference of the dome to something that fits what's expected.

I'm no architectural expert, and I wouldn't consult with one over a map I created for a module. Not saying Melan didn't/doesn't have insight that support the map he provided, of course.

 

[Melan]

While rambling and enormous, Xyntillan must have been shoddily built by low-waged peasants and weirdo architects. This is my go-to explanation for architectural strangeness, with sufficient historical precedent (lots of bad architecture hidden in plain sight in old castles and churches, and those tended to be the better examples of the day's architecture). For example, after building an enormous dome over their grand dining room, the miscreant they hired for the job built a wall across it, reaching up to the dome's interior, cutting off part of the circular design. Or the dome remained in place for centuries while the interior was reconstructed by successive generations of less competent designers. It is strange because it is organic.

The unmapped attics (one above F2, one above D10, and one on top of the Lake Tower) generally conform to the dimensions of the room below them, or something similar. These tend to be under the tower tops, so they are not necessarily neat cube-shaped rooms.

The exterior was never mapped properly, since the action focused on the castle proper. What existed of the planned wilderness key was incorporated into the Indoornesse. As I envisioned it, the lake lies north and northwest of the complex, surrounded by forests, and then by a ring of mountains on all sides. It is fed by two small mountain rivers, and drains away through subterranean conduits. Here is a depiction from Helvéczia, which predates the module's current form by a few years, but is close enough.

Also furthermore, Constantinople shall be retaken by the crusading hosts yet. Deus Vult!

 

[The1True]

Also furthermore, Constantinople shall be retaken by the crusading hosts yet. Deus Vult!

Byzantium endures!

The clarification is greatly appreciated! Also, Xantillon sounds nice too. Is this one of those Koln-Cologne, Munchen-Munich anglicizations?

 

[Melan]

Exactly!

 

[PrinceofNothing]

Maybe referring to this.

It's a wretched affair is what it is, but maybe give it a rest for now. Peace.