DCC35 -- Freeport weirdness

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Akrasia
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DCC35 -- Freeport weirdness

Post by Akrasia »

Well I just got the DCC 35 pdf, and so far it looks quite good.

However, for the life of me, I cannot understand the way in which the writers handled Freeport. :?

Given that GG obviously got permission from GR to include Freeport within the Known Realms, why on earth would the writers completely ignore what GR has actually written about the city?

1. The city is now on the end of a peninsula instead of on a set of small islands (the 'Serpent's Teeth'). Now, while a completely unnecessary change (given how big the KR setting is), this wouldn't be too bad, except for ...

2. The city is on the north (or maybe west -- I can't tell) side of the peninsula, whereas as the city map for Freeport makes it clear that the harbour and sea (including the important lighthouse) are on the south side of the city. I mean, even if you didn't read anything in any of the Freeport books, simply looking at the map should have indicated that the city ought to have been placed on the southern tip of an island (or peninsula).

3. The description of the city in Gazetteer resembles nothing, as far as I can tell, in the GR version of Freeport (aside from a vague reference to the city formerly being a place run by pirates). I'm only really familiar with the original Freeport trilogy and 'Tales of Freeport', so perhaps I've missed something in another book, but AFAIK the city is run by a Captains Council and Sea-Lord, not a mayor. The rest of the write-up in the Gaz also doesn't seem right.

4. For some reason, there was no suggestion of a connection between the 'serpent folk' of Freeport and the Drakon. Such a connection looks natural (even though Freeport is thousands of miles to the east of the Drakon -- which suggests that its location in the KR is not the best one available).

Given that the writers pretty much ignored the city of Freeport as produced by GR, why did they bother to include it? Perhaps it is a minor thing, but I simply don't understand this treatment of Freeport. It looks like a missed opportunity, given that GR plans to update the setting in the near future. The two product lines could have reinforced each other.

Ergh.
:|
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PeelSeel2
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Post by PeelSeel2 »

My Guess is that the DCC Freeport has nothing to do with GR Freeport. Freeport is a common enough city name in the real world that I do not think the name could be copyrighted. The backgrounds and placement are sufficiently different that they are not the same city, so no copyright their. Of course I could be totallly wrong.
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Post by JediOre »

Perhaps the GG Freeport and the GR Freeport are a link between two parallel worlds?
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Post by Harley Stroh »

Akrasia,

Sorry to disappoint. The quick and dirty answer is, my only source was the DCC “Shadows in Freeport.” I don’t have access to Green Ronin’s library, and buying GR sourcebooks to make DCC World match up GR's Freeport just wasn't in the cards.

In the end, I did the best we could with the limited information we had.

//H
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Post by Akrasia »

Harley Stroh wrote: ... The quick and dirty answer is, my only source was the DCC “Shadows in Freeport.” I don’t have access to Green Ronin’s library, and buying GR sourcebooks to make DCC World match up GR's Freeport just wasn't in the cards...
Thanks for your reply, though I'm surprised that some minimal information on Freeport couldn't have been easily attained (I'm not talking about the 'entire library', but simply a map and a brief history, something attainable in a cheap pdf).

I mean, why would a company include, say, the City State of the Invincible Overlord in their setting without having minimal information on the city (even its geography)?

You've given your answer, Harley, and I appreciate that, so I'm sorry for still whining. But I guess I'm just baffled why GG bothered to include the city. Obviously people who use the GR Freeport material will notice the incompatibilities. It would have been more sensible just to not have bothered.
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Post by Harley Stroh »

Akrasia,

Nods. I hear what you're saying and I wish I had a better answer. Nothing would have made me happier than a seemless match.

You asked why we included Freeport. We included the city because a Freeport appears in the DCC line. We treated it just like any other city, making decisions based on the world first and any one particular module second. (For instance, Mike's "Emerald Cobra" has a very strong real-world French influence. Great for the module, incongruent with the world, so we muted a lot of his original flavor.)

In retrospect, it does make sense that Freeport is not just any other city. If we ever include another 3rd party property again, I'll make sure I put a stronger emphasis on the homework.

//H
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Post by Nahat Anoj »

I'm not sure if this was available during the development of DCC 35, but this link:

http://true20.com/files/DeathInFreeportTrue20.pdf

Takes you to a free, True20 version of the Death In Freeport adventure, which includes a brief history of Freeport.

To some extent I empathize with Akrasia, but I do agree with Harley that, ultimately, world considerations outweigh module considerations. I haven't got DCC 35 yet (but I wants it...), so I don't know how easy it would be to place the city somewhere else and to intertwine it into the Known World's mythology.

I also scratch my head that GR didn't try to contact GG and give some brief info about the city, because I guess I thought that GR would have heard about DCC 35 through the grapevine - it seems like it would have been relatively big news in gaming circles. From the viewpoint of the consumer, it appears as if gaming companies are a relatively tight-knit group and aware of other companies' projects. But I guess that's not always the case :) .
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Post by Harley Stroh »

I take full responsibility for this one. If anyone didn't track down free info, it was me and only me.

That said, the area surrounding Freeport in DCC world is utterly undeveloped. Remapping it is the least of the concerns. But the lands surrounding Freeport? GMs are on their own there.

//H
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Post by JediOre »

JediOre wrote:Perhaps the GG Freeport and the GR Freeport are a link between two parallel worlds?
That may be Harley's statement, but I like my made up reason better!
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Post by Harley Stroh »

:)
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Post by Treebore »

JediOre wrote:
JediOre wrote:Perhaps the GG Freeport and the GR Freeport are a link between two parallel worlds?
That may be Harley's statement, but I like my made up reason better!
I like that too. I've been looking at having as many of my settings all be on one world, but some are just ugly fits. However, having a "duality" of existance with cross overs at key nexus points will allow me to do a "one world" approach.

So thanks for pointing out the solution to my dilemma.
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Post by JediOre »

Treebore,

You made my day! Glad to help.
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Post by Argamae »

To be honest... I would rather have liked Freeport completely independent from GR's Freeport. Mainly because I simply don't like the GR product "City of Adventure". But in the end it's my decision anyway - to make the Áereth Freeport a completely different city.
As has already been pointed out - the name is common enough for an independent harbour town. :wink:
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Post by Treebore »

Other than the Freeport Trilogy and the Freeport DCC I don't believe I have any other Freeport Material, even though I have considered the "Sails" book several times.

So I will essentially be running a individual Freeport as well. Like you brought up Argamae, it is a common city name in many worlds, so I like the idea of making it the location of a "nexus" type of Gate, that goes to many different worlds, or at least worlds I want to use that don't "fit" with being on the same world as DCC 35.
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Post by Argamae »

The idea with a nexus city is quite good... maybe I borrow it for a way off this world, since my playing group travelled there via "accident" from the World of Greyhawk and might one day plan to return to Greyhawk. I planned it all along, though. The first adventure (Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho) was just the entry point for a DCC campaign on the World of Àereth. In the final battle, the demon thing once Tsathzar Rho activated a "mystic device" and - in dying - sent the PCs to Áereth.
Up to now my group is intrigued!
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Post by frank5471uk »

Hi all

Please note that this latest entry on this old thread is written some considerable time after the previous post.

I recently purchased both DCC #20 (Shadows over Freeport) and the Green Ronin module Death in Freeport and I was surprised at the big differences in the Freeport info supplied in DCC #35 and that contained in the Green Ronin module. Then I found this old thread and can see (and understand) Harley's reasons for this.

Another issue with using the Green Ronin module within an Aereth campaign is that the history and timeline provided in the GR module doesn't mesh very well with the history and timeline provided in DCC #35. I am not at all surprised by this and I would never have expected any of the DCC #35 authors to go this far, but it does present issuette's with using the Death in Freeport (and presumably later GR Freeport modules) in Aereth.

At some point in the future, after my Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde campaign (Aereth set), I intend starting a Freeport campaign within Aereth, building towards the use of DCC #20, and therefore have started work on providing a greater integration of the the two companies products history wise.

To do this, I have produced :-

a) A modified version of the Green Ronin history and timeline of Freeport, firmly anchoring it within Aereth.

b) A modified version of the DCC #35 Gazeteer entry for Freeport aligning it with the information provided in Death in Freeport

c) Some brief guidelines on changes required to Green Ronin Freeport modules to ensure that GMs can easily use the integrated versions.

I have done this for my own personal (non-commercial) use and offer the text below for your comment and polish. Feel free to comment, constructively or otherwise :) When you do comment, please bear in mind that I am merely sharing how I intend to go about using Freeport within Aereth. I am not insisting anyone use my material, but feel free if it helps. Otherwise there are plenty of good ideas above such as the use of Freeport as a Nexus between worlds.

Frank

**********************************************************

A Brief History of Freeport

Before Freeport

While the current city of Freeport is only a few centuries old, the site has been inhabited for far, far longer. Some three and a half thousand years ago, the then landlocked surrounding area was known as Valossa, occupying the southern foothills of the Dragonspire Mountains, nestling between the countries of Lirea to the west and Saramanthia to the east. Stretching a thousand miles south west to north east, Valossa was home to the only Drakon colony outpost of Ssorlong. These sorcerous reptiles ruled significant swathes of territory in Aereth when humanity was young and the Naga and Sphinx empires flourished. The Drakon pioneered magic and science when the elves still hid in their woods.

All was not well in Valossa, however. The serpent people had long worshiped Lagos, the great reptile god. But in the country’s latter days, a cult dedicated to the worship of the Faceless Lord, a dread force, sprang up in their cities. Called the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, the cult spurned Lagos and embraced the entropy of the Faceless Lord. The leaders of the serpent people, arrogant and vain in their high towers, allowed the cult to fester among the discontented.

By the time the priests of Lagos were roused to action, it was too late. The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, under the guidance of the Faceless Lord enacted a ritual to disrupt the Eldritch Coalition of Lirea in their plan to activate the Pillars of Expulsion to bring the War of Divine Right to an end in the Northlands. The brotherhood were successful and the coalition’s plan was subverted. The Empyrion Ocean rose and covered the lands of Lirea and eastern Valossa and the only Drakon colony in the Northlands was shattered for all time.

No witnesses survived to tell of the Faceless Lord’s role in the calamitous end to the War of Divine Right, but evidence abounds of the destruction it wrought. Mighty Valossa was rent asunder, and sea water rushed in to drown the serpent people in their millions. Those who survived were driven mad, losing their civilization and magic in one terrible moment. Much of Valossa sank beneath the waves, leaving only the mostly uninhabited mountainous west and a few scattered islands as evidence of the once great colony. Whilst scattered pockets of mountain communities remained, the heartland of Valossa was drowned and the country effectively ceased to be at that moment.

The crazed serpent people fled underground, where their degenerate descendents live to this day. A few sorcerers and priests of Lagos survived the Faceless Lord’s wrath with their sanity intact. They retreated into the shadows as the elves and dwarves rebuilt their own realms further to the North. The centuries passed, and few remembered the Valossa had even existed or even that the serpent people had once lived outside of Ssorlong.

The Rise of Freeport

The largest surviving part of Valossa is the southern foothills of the Dragonspire Mountains and known as the Serpent’s Teeth Peninsular. The name may be a distant echo of the Drakon Colony, though locals ascribe it to the shape of the mountains themselves. The north coast of the Serpent’s Teeth Peninsular had a natural harbor called A’Val that was easily defended. As humanity took to the newly formed Lirean Sea, the harbour was quickly found by roving captains. At first, it was a place to rest, get fresh water, and refit.

Before long a village sprang up, and as the years passed this village turned into a town. It was able to thrive by offering services to passing ships and refuge to those unwelcome elsewhere. The sailors took to calling it “Freeport,” and the name stuck. With its remote location and natural attributes, Freeport became a magnet for buccaneers. Before long they had taken over the town, which became a notorious pirate haven. What made Freeport work in the early days was the simple pirate code: Do whatever you want on the high seas, but don’t go against your comrades in port. That meant no stealing, no killing, and no kidnapping. Duels happened on occasion, but they were formal affairs conducted outside the city walls. Most satisfied themselves with drunken brawls, and of those there were plenty. By and large, though, the peace was kept in Freeport and the status quo existed for centuries.

About one hundred years ago, the era of the rogue buccaneer came to an end. After the renowned pirate Bloody Jack Danscombe managed to plunder the tribute fleet of the Empire of Crieste, lone privateer ships increasingly faced threats from the organised navies of the Northlands, in particular those of Crieste, the main naval force of the Lirean Sea. At one time a single privateer could hunt merchant ships with impunity, but now it was a fox to the hounds of naval squadrons. As crew after crew was hunted down and destroyed by the Criestine Navy, the pirates of Freeport realised they had to change their ways.

Freeport’s captains realized it would take a navy to fight a navy, so they decided to form a force of their own and go raiding en masse. The only problem was choosing a leader. After much bickering, the pirates settled on two captains for the great fleet. Drac and Francisco were fierce rivals, and the assembled captains believed anything the two could agree on would be a good decision. It was not an ideal situation, but the pirates had surprise and numbers on their side. The combined fleet went on a three month raid, now known as “The Great Raid” that netted more money, valuables, foodstuffs and booze than Freeport had ever seen. It was a spectacular success, and Captains Drac and Francisco were not slow in claiming credit. Before long, each had declared himself Sea Lord of Freeport.

War in Freeport

The next ten years were tense ones in Freeport. The Great Raid set off a panic among the maritime nations, which spent huge amounts of money and resources building up larger navies. The Sea Lords were forced to fight battle after battle against determined foes. Freeport itself was assaulted on three separate occasions, but its defences proved too strong for the attacking ships.

This undeclared war had no clear victor. Freeport withstood the assaults and inflicted several stinging defeats on its enemies, but attrition was high on both sides. In the end the conflict petered out as the warring navies ran out of ships and crews to hurl into battle. After a decade of constant fighting, there was a long lull, during which each side licked its wounds.

During the war, adversity kept the pirates united. When the pressure eased, however, trouble was not slow in coming. The Sea Lords had long hated each other, and this animosity flared up anew—with deadly consequences. After a series of provocations, real fighting broke out in Freeport for the first time in its history. The followers of Drac and Francisco killed one another in the streets, breaking the pirate code that had bound the city together.

Neither Sea Lord gained an upper hand. Before the conflict could be resolved, word came of yet another hostile Criestine fleet bound for the city. The pirates called a truce, and the fleet sailed out to defend Freeport, united once again—or so it seemed. Captain Drac realized this ongoing war was one they could not ultimately win: The only chance for survival was to become a part of the world that was trying to destroy them. Drac entered secret negotiations with Crieste, using a wizard as a go between. He agreed to betray Francisco in exchange for a truce and recognition of Freeport as a free city. The Criestine leaders were only too happy to sign such an agreement and end the ruinously expensive war.

With no knowledge of his comrade’s duplicity, Captain Francisco led the fleet to the attack. Once his forces were engaged, Drac’s ships simply sailed away, leaving Francisco’s fleet exposed and without support; they were quickly surrounded and destroyed. In the meantime, Drac returned to Freeport to announce the new city-state and claim his new regime.

A Nation Emerges

Captain Drac quickly consolidated his power. He declared himself the sole Sea Lord of Freeport and eliminated his remaining enemies before they could organize against him. Some of the other pirate captains left Freeport for the Barrier Isles in the Southlands rather than serve Drac, whom they despised for betraying Francisco and blamed for violating the pirate code. Most, however, seeing which way the salty wind was blowing, chose to remain in Freeport and ride out the storm.

As it turned out, Sea Lord Drac’s reign was less bloody than anyone had believed possible. He ruled Freeport with a firm hand for the next twenty years, turning a pirate haven into a commercial hub of substantial importance. He set up trade routes with many countries of the Northlands, cracked down on rogue pirates, and organized a Captains’ Council. Drac’s word was still law, but the Council was in charge of the city’s day-to-day affairs and advised the Sea Lord on important matters.

Although Drac fancied himself a king, he resisted the urge to take the title. Somehow he knew that the citizens of Freeport would not accept something so contrary to their natures. Similarly, he knew that he could not found a dynasty. The Captains’ Council would never submit to Drac’s son, a mere boy who lacked the experience of those salty dogs. But Drac needed to ensure the survival of Freeport as an independent city-state after his death. With melancholy in his heart, he chose another old hand, Captain Cromey, as his successor. Furthermore, he even set into law a requirement that the Captains’ Council approve the Sea Lord’s nominee. At the end of life, Drac chose the interests of the city over his own glory, and for this he is remembered as a great man in Freeport.

A Period of Growth

The next fifty years were profitable ones. Freeport continued to grow, which necessitated building a newer and larger city wall. As new trade routes to the east opened up, the city became an even more important maritime center. Freeport was largely able to stay out of the wars that broke out on the continent, although it did cement alliances with Crieste and the Theocracy of the Lance. All in all, this was a period of stability and growth, with a succession of competent Sea Lords assuring the city’s continued importance.

A Bad Seed

Things began to change twenty years ago, when a descendent of Captain Drac succeeded the outgoing Sea Lord. Marten Drac is rumoured to have used blackmail and assassination in his rise to power, and he most certainly used them to maintain his position. Marten ruled for only four years, but the damage he did to the city was substantial. A series of burdensome duties and taxes fattened his coffers but drove away many merchants. More ominously, he drove through a new law—over the objections of the Captains’ Council—that required the Sea Lord of Freeport to be a descendent of the original Captain Drac.

Marten’s youngest brother, Anton, who became Sea Lord on Marten’s death, saved the city from complete disaster. Anton Drac proved to be cut from the same cloth as his illustrious great grandfather and was able to undo the worst excesses of Marten’s reign. He abolished the unfair duties, as well as providing incentives to win back lost trade. He also provided limited naval aid to the city’s now allies, Crieste and the Theocracy of the Lance, earning their thanks and their business. Anton’s one failing was that he did not abolish Marten’s succession law. He was regularly urged to do so by the Captains’ Council, but the Sea Lord could never quite bring himself to do it. Despite his enlightened rule, he did consider Freeport to belong to his family. This was to prove his undoing.

A Half-Decade of Deceit

Five years ago, the Scourgelands invasion of the Grand Duchy of Leherti began, involving nearly every nation on the continent. Anton stayed out of it at first, but he knew he would have to honor the existing treaties with Crieste and the Theocracy, both of whom had mobilised for the defence of Leherti. He announced to the Captains’ Council that the Freeport navy would go to the aid of its allies in the spring—the first time the full fleet had sailed to war since the days of Drac and Francisco.

The Council was torn on the issue, approving the move by only a single vote. Anton allowed enough time for preparations to be made throughout the winter. Unfortunately, this also gave his enemies several months to concoct an ambitious plan. In fact, it was so ambitious that many suspected the plotters had outside help from agents of governments that wanted Freeport to stay neutral. Rumours continue to circulate to this day.

Toward the end of winter, as the Sea Lord was inspecting the fleet on the docks, a single yellow-feathered arrow flew from the crow’s nest of an anchored ship, piercing Anton’s chest. The wound should not have been mortal, but the arrow was enchanted with death magic. Anton died on the spot, leaving Freeport without a Sea Lord for the first time in a hundred years. The assassin was cornered and killed before he could talk, and his body disappeared before priests could try to speak with the dead man’s spirit. The Captains’ Council dismissed the attack as the act of a lone renegade. The Council had more pressing business to attend to, namely, who would succeed
Anton?

At this juncture, Milton Drac stepped onto the stage of history. A distant cousin of Anton, Milton appeared as if from nowhere. He was not a member of the Council, but he enjoyed tremendous support there. Those most likely to oppose him were strangely silent, as if they feared the consequences of such an action. In a matter of weeks, this previously unknown Drac became the new Sea Lord of Freeport. Milton’s first official act was to cancel all military aid to the allied nations: The fleet was to restrict its activities to guarding commerce, nothing more, which as the Scourge had little in the way of naval forces, proved to be an empty gesture to the allies.

As war raged on the continent, Freeport stood neutral. This was a grave disappointment to the nations counting on its navy to transport their land forces and to keep the armies supplied, who branded Milton a traitor. Some called him the puppet of foreign agents or a religious cult. Milton pooh-poohed these accusations and continued his rule of Freeport with little opposition. After cancelling the fleet action, Milton used the war chest to build a monument to his ambition: the Lighthouse of Drac. It has been under construction for the past five years, on the closest island to the city. Meant to be one of the wonders of the age, the Lighthouse soars towards the heavens, taller than any structure in the world.

The Sea Lord’s stated goal is to make Freeport the pre-eminent maritime power of the world overtaking Crieste, the Southern Province and Kalia in the power stakes. However, the reality has fallen short of that ideal. The Lighthouse of Drac, or “Milton’s Folly,” as some have taken to calling it, nearly bankrupted the city. Taxes and duties have risen steadily during its construction, and an army of migrant workers was needed to finish the structure on time. It is finally approaching its scheduled completion date, three months from now. Milton is planning a gala celebration for its inauguration, and ships from around the world are expected to attend. This is an event not to be missed—or so Milton hopes.

Freeport Timeline

Date Notable Events

-300 A Drakon tribe leaves Ssorlong in the south and a new colony is established in the northern land of Valossa
-15 Lirea and Western Valossa are destroyed in the climactic end of the War of Divine Right
2400 Future Freeport founded on the northern coast of the area once known as eastern Valossa
3098 Bloody Jack Danscombe plunders the imperial tribute fleet. The Criestine backlash against pirates begins.
3100 Captains Drac and Francisco lead the combined ships of Freeport as a unified fleet for the first time ever instigating the Great Raid of the Lirean Sea. Having returned laden with loot, each declares himself Sea Lord of Freeport. The Freeport-Crieste war begins.
3110 Drac betrays Francisco by signing a peace treaty with Crieste and assumes sole control of the city.
3130 Drac dies and is succeeded by Captain Cromey, initiating a period of prosperity.
3180 Marten Drac becomes Sea Lord, nearly bankrupting Freeport; institutes Drac succession law
3184 Anton Drac succeeds Marten and repairs much of the damage but does not repeal the succession law
3195 Invasion of Leherti by the Scourge begins. Anton Drac assassinated; Milton Drac becomes Sea Lord. Freeport withdraws it’s support for the war against the Scourge.
3196 Construction begins on the Lighthouse of Drac
3200 Present day. Lighthouse opening due in 3 months.

Freeport Today

Use the entry below to replace the one provided by the Gazeteer of the Known Realms in DCC 35.

Freeport, City of

Ruler : Sea Lord Milton Drac & The Captains Council

Population: 42,601 (humans 65%, half-orcs 19%, dwarves 6%, elves 5%, monstrous humanoids 4%, halfings 1%)
Resources: Slaves, mercenaries, black market trade, fish, whale oil
Capital: The City of Freeport

Once an infamous pirate city, Freeport now promotes itself as a legitimate trade power. In truth, the pirate tradition (after a hundred years of reasonably honest rule) has achieved a resurgance in Freeport, and it’s presence is only partially camouflaged by a fanciful veneer of respectability. Many of the city’s privateers have become pirates, and those that have refrained are hiring themselves out to the highest bidder, regardless of legality.

Amidst the soiled city streets, life has become difficult. Gangs fight wars over drugs, slavery, and crime, while mad cultists dedicated to foul and unspeakable gods plumb the ruins of ancient civilizations for power, knowledge, and secrets of the past.

Milton Drac monitors his domain like a rat atop a pile of rotting corpses. The Sea Lord is a master at keeping his rivals busy fighting one another, leaving little time or resources to challenge his control of the city’s fleet. It is whispered that Drac sees and hears all that transpires in his city. While there might be some truth to his near-mythic powers, the more likely answer is that Drac keeps his people so poor and desperate that they are eager to sell out their fellow citizens for a single worn copper.

The captains of Freeport are true privateers, willing to sail for any cause or crown if the colour of the coin is right. The Captains Council prohibits Freeport captains from engaging one another in battle, but gold has a way of bending this code, resulting in grudges between mercenary captains that can stretch on for years.

Milton is currently obsessed with his Lighthouse due to be opened in three months time, but the Captains’ Council still attempts to govern Freeport. Their task grew more arduous over the past five years, as more and more of the city’s money was sunk into Milton’s Folly. Services have degenerated: The garrison has shrunk and is largely confined to the Old City; the docks are policed haphazardly, if at all. Crime has skyrocketed, but as long as it remains in the shadows the Council is content to look the other way. Known pirates from outside of Freeport have even taken to frequenting the port again. As long as they bribe the dock officials, they can enjoy what Freeport has to offer. Ironically, the city is returning to its roots.

Notes to GMs

When running Freeport Adventures published by Green Ronin, it is important to bear the following in mind, which will necessitate slight changes to the modules as written.

• In Aereth, Freeport is not situated on the island of A’Val but is instead on the North Coast of the peninsular that marks the south-east tip of the Dragonspire Mountains.
• As Freeport is on a Northern Coast, the compasses on Freeport maps are 180degrees out of alignment (North is South and vice versa)
• In my Aereth, the Serpents Teeth are not the island chain in which Freeport is situated but rather the name for the lower end of the Dragonspire Mountains
• In my Aereth, the Serpent People who founded Varossa are Drakon, a colony of the Southlands based Drakon.
• In my Aereth, the timeline of some of the events of Freeport’s history have been amended to allow them to better mesh with recorded events in Aereth’s history.
• In my Aereth, the Serpent People of Varossa initially worshiped Lagos, not Yig
• In my Aereth, the god that usurped the worship of the Serpent People was the Faceless Lord (Zhuhn), not the Unspeakable one.

Finally, all of the above has been produced using only material provided by the adventures Death in Freeport and Shadows Over Freeport. I have not run either of these modules yet, so I cannot swear hand on heart that the meshing of Green Ronin Freeport and Aereth is 100% seamless. Also, I cannot confirm if any of the above is compatible with any of the other Green Ronin published Freeport material.
Last edited by frank5471uk on Sat Dec 08, 2007 3:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Harley Stroh
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Post by Harley Stroh »

Frank,

That's an impressive body of work. Really, really cool. DCC World's rendition of Freeport is one of my greatest regrets about DCC 35. No two ways about it.

I've been picking up Freeport material here and there, so at some point I'll probably put your some of your ideas into home play.

//H
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Post by frank5471uk »

Harley Stroh wrote:Frank,

That's an impressive body of work. Really, really cool. DCC World's rendition of Freeport is one of my greatest regrets about DCC 35. No two ways about it.

I've been picking up Freeport material here and there, so at some point I'll probably put your some of your ideas into home play.

//H
Harley, high praise from the master. There is no need to have ANY regrets over DCC #35. It is a FANTASTIC product and is bound to have the odd issue here and there. Feel free to use as much or as little of the above as you need in the future. It should be noted of course that I have merely edited and added to the words of the existing authors, yourself from Goodman Games and Chris Pramas of Green Ronin. Without the original material, the above would not exist.

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Post by Ogrepuppy »

:: points at dead horse ::

Cool. Can we stop beating on it now? :wink:






:: points down :: Curses! Peel always gets the last word!
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Post by PeelSeel2 »

Not before I put my two cents in.




Ok, stop now.
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Post by frank5471uk »

Ogrepuppy wrote:Can we stop beating on it now? :wink:
Who's beating ? I've done nothing but praise and help imho.

I know it was meant in jest, but I genuinely thought this forum would find what I did interesting and useful and I was REALLY hoping for some discussion/suggestions on how I could improve on what I had done so far. So a call to effectively halt the thread isn't really what I was hoping for.

If you're genuinely not interested in my small (in talent, not time) efforts, I'll keep them to myself in future.

Frank
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Post by Warduke »

deep breath, ya'll. :) we all love dcc world. :) :)

i'd say your work IS welcome frank, in fact i might start getting freeport FRPG material just to implement some of the freeport changes you noted. (otherwise, that section of my dcc world is pretty dead)

harley, jeff and mike have stated numbers of times that their intent was to provide a jumping off point for gms. i think they'd be proud to see frank taking the time to integrate dcc world with ronin's freeport. that's a serious compliment.

sorry for the 2 cents, its just we're a small enough group as it is. hate to see it get any smaller.
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Post by frank5471uk »

Warduke wrote:deep breath, ya'll. :) we all love dcc world. :) :)

i'd say your work IS welcome frank, in fact i might start getting freeport FRPG material just to implement some of the freeport changes you noted. (otherwise, that section of my dcc world is pretty dead)

harley, jeff and mike have stated numbers of times that their intent was to provide a jumping off point for gms. i think they'd be proud to see frank taking the time to integrate dcc world with ronin's freeport. that's a serious compliment.

sorry for the 2 cents, its just we're a small enough group as it is. hate to see it get any smaller.
Thanks Warduke, much appreciated.

BTW, I have a tendency to get defensive too quickly and I am sure that no offense was meant. I'm over it :)

Has anyone got any of the later Freeport stuff from GR. Does it expand on the world around Freeport (and hence probably introduce conflicts with my piece above) or does it pretty much stick with the city ?

I hear that the new Freeport material will wind the clock forward 5 years. Should be interesting.

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Post by Warduke »

frank,

i hereby award you with the title of dcc freeport scholar. that article is AWESOME. now i just need to get me some more freeport material.

are you dropping any of the dcc adventures into freeport? revenge of the rat king seems like it would make a good fit, but there might be others .....
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Post by Ogrepuppy »

frank5471uk wrote:BTW, I have a tendency to get defensive too quickly and I am sure that no offense was meant.
Nope, there was no hostility intended. I just look at this thread and think, "It's water under the bridge," particularly since a) the adventure is published--it's not like we can go back now, and b) 4th edition has been announced.

There are so MANY other options regarding this adventure to make it "work", and there are so many other terrific DCCs that got it "right" that I just wanted to move on. Green Ronin has LOTS of material about the "offical" Freeport, so I prefer to think of this as an .ALT Freeport.

By all means, post any and all info about Freeport that you want. I just get a little defensive about Harley's decisions because...well, frankly, I really like the guy (even though we've never met). If Harley screwed up, I think we can forgive him considering all the positive stuff he's done.

Finally, to put it black & white, I apologize if I came across as snarky.

Can we hug & make out....err, up?
Last edited by Ogrepuppy on Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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