Quote:
Originally Posted by Jibartik
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Yea! No need for new continents when we have great spots for new zones: ORC HIGHWAY the very treacherous path that kills many mortal men, but is the fastest rout to the karanas....
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I am taken with this concept. I envision a box canyon that begins at the northeast corner of South Karana so that the river can flow into it. As you swim into the canyon, the river quickly tapers and a sandy beach lines alternating sides. Encampments of Dervishes block your progress, forcing you to choose between the crocodiles in the now-shallow river or clearing the camps to proceed. Eventually you reach the head of the canyon, where the river, now reduced to a stream, flows into a shallow cavern that it has worn under a capstone--the very same stone you see as the wadi of Orc Highway. To the side, a narrow path has been worn into the stone to allow access to the Oasis, which is fed by the underground river. Spelunkers beware! The cavern is a dungeon housing a sept of Dervishes, led by a desert madman . . .
I see this canyon as an alternate progression route from the orcs and caimans of the Oasis to the aviaks and centaurs of South Karana. I would therefore spawn the Dervish camps as 18-20 and the crocodiles as perhaps 22, to encourage a slower clearing progression through the canyon. High levels may of course Levitate down the river to keep from training any intrepid adventuring parties. At least one of each Dervish camp should be a rooting Wizard, who account for the desert madmen of the wastes to the east.
I agree with Gatmanno that the classic feel must be kept, so I would reuse textures wherever possible. The Ros and Oasis wall textures should suit the walls of the box canyon well enough. I chose Dervishes for the same reason. The dungeon I haven't fleshed out as well yet. I enjoy Maraudon and Wailing Caverns quite a lot so I would probably aim for Guk's seeping wall textures with moss although I'm not sure how I would make the walls imitate smoothed waterbores rather than Guk's crude shafts. I could see the main stream body wending through and under the dungeon's overlap of tunnels bored by high water, where the Dervishes and their blue-eyed master lurk.