The Fox and the Hawk, Chapter 1 - Spoilers

[Spec8472]

Spoilers discussion here please, folks.

[Hearly]

Ok maybe I'm confused, but is Fox a Human? A few places it seems to mention a Tail, but I didn't read it that closely so I might have missed it.

[Spec8472]

Ok maybe I'm confused, but is Fox a Human? A few places it seems to mention a Tail, but I didn't read it that closely so I might have missed it.

He's human (or atleast, all indications so far is that he is human). Losing ones tail? Someone was following him.

[Fel]

Fox is completely human. The only time I've mentioned tails in regard to him is the tail end of his braid, or maybe his chain.

The only reference to a tail in the chapter is when he was being followed, and he went about getting rid of them. He needed to "shake his tail."

[Hearly]

Fox is completely human. The only time I've mentioned tails in regard to him is the tail end of his braid, or maybe his chain.

The only reference to a tail in the chapter is when he was being followed, and he went about getting rid of them. He needed to "shake his tail."

See what happens when you read it at work and get distracted by actually having to do work...

[gesit]

hehehe, that's funny
i didn't get any work done.....<sigh>
so i've to make it up to my boss next week!
cheers

ham

[Fel]

Since it's gonna be slow to update, and this IS the spoiler section, I figured I'd give you an idea of the rework.

The original story focused mostly on what happens at Dragonspear, how Fox uses magic to build something temporary, then builds around that base to develop his dream castle (he has architect's blueprints in his portable hole, he has PLANNED this). Which then promptly gets sieged by the forces of Amn, who have a total fit when Fox starts taxing caravans for using a road his forces are now keeping clear of bandits. And they're certainly not the only people coming after Dragonspear. The Lords, Baldur's Gate, the Harpers, even Neverwinter wants to meddle with the new kingdom that popped up on the road to Westgate, and let's not forget that quite a few people want Fox dead, and now they know where to find him. They're going to make their presences known as well.

He doesn't earn many friends either. Fox is not what you'd call "good." He'll happily consort with anyone--or anyTHING--so long as the other party treats him with respect and doesn't do anything evil to HIM. As I introduced in chapter 1, Fox is friends with a lich, a doppleganger, an ogre, and a drow, and those aren't very nice people as a rule of thumb. Fox's very tolerant attitude makes Dragonspear an open area, where the orcs and kobolds on the moor are more than welcome to come and trade, so long as they don't raid the caravans using the road. That is not the kind of place that people like the Lords of Waterdeep and the Harpers want only five days south of their city.

Well, I'm much better at planning now, so I'm going to spend a couple of chapters dealing with the preparation, introducing you to Karra and the Vixens, and, naturally, having a little fun between him and the new Lords of Waterdeep. They know who he is and what he did sixty years ago, and Fox will soon realize who's following him and...take steps.

In typical Fox fashion, however, which is a light touch and a little amusing. Fox only fights when he has no other choice. In a way, Fox is much like Jason; he's a talker, he has a sense of humor, and he's devious. He'd much rather embarrass you than kill you. It's more fun.

I haven't decided what happens there, but you can bet that Fox will drive the Lords bonkers before he leaves in the spring. Fox has a very quirky sense of humor, and he'll unleash that on the Lords.

I will return to the original story, though, where Fox deals with building a castle, clearing the moor, and suddenly being thrust into international politics as the little hamlet of Dragonspear attracts the attention of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Amn, Tethyr, and Calimsham...and word of his settling down reaches some rather unfriendly people in points east, like Zhentil Keep and Thay.

[storyreader2005]

I will return to the original story, though, where Fox deals with building a castle, clearing the moor, and suddenly being thrust into international politics as the little hamlet of Dragonspear attracts the attention of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Amn, Tethyr, and Calimsham...and word of his settling down reaches some rather unfriendly people in points east, like Zhentil Keep and Thay.

Well then, it's probably a good thing that Karra is an 'Earth Elemental' Archmage so that when the 'mountain of trouble' lands on him he at least stands a chance of digging his way out.

[Fiferguy]

Awesome chapter, Fel. I can't wait to read more, especially about the Djinn...

[Fel]

I will return to the original story, though, where Fox deals with building a castle, clearing the moor, and suddenly being thrust into international politics as the little hamlet of Dragonspear attracts the attention of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Amn, Tethyr, and Calimsham...and word of his settling down reaches some rather unfriendly people in points east, like Zhentil Keep and Thay.

Well then, it's probably a good thing that Karra is an 'Earth Elemental' Archmage so that when the 'mountain of trouble' lands on him he at least stands a chance of digging his way out.

When Fox said that she's the best, he wasn't kidding.

You think Fox has some interesting magical toys? Just wait til you see Karra. Her stone golems are just the tip of the iceberg.

One of the first things you'll see in the next chapter is her home. You see, she may live in a tower in Halruua, but her home is actually an extra-dimensional pocket the size of a mansion, one of whose exits she can move. She'll move the "back door" into Waterdeep once Fox sets up something permanent, and since it's also connected to her tower back in Halruua, it will give her quick and immediate access to her lab and her things. Whatever Fox buys to keep up appearances will be nothing but a front for that door, which is where they'll truly live. It's the ultimate in security, for ONLY Karra and Fox can open that door. And even if a thief could open that door, he'd find himself dealing with two very angry stone golems that are set to attack any invaders to the pocket plane.

If you're familiar with AD&D, what Karra did was improve the spell Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, finding a way to make it permanent, give it multiple exits, and attach its pocket dimension to the material plane, anchoring the pocket plane inside her tower in Halruua so the interior has "days" of light and dark and never runs out of air. It looks like a simple door on the outside, but it's a massive, opulent mansion within, staffed with magical servants, always clean, always luxurious, and utterly safe and secure due to the powerful magical defenses interlaced into the magical construction. It cost Karra two years and nearly a quarter of a million gold crowns to research the magic and then go about creating her home, but it was more than worth it when you look at the result. What she got was an absolutely impregnable mansion with one fixed entrance and one movable entrance that she can move whenever she needs to.

Karra is the leading expert when it comes to earth magic, and it's through her magic that Fox will get his Dragonspear castle moving on the fast track. You see, Karra's magic is so advanced that she can literally raise an entire stone building with a spell, and she uses it to give them something immediately defensible when they travel to Dragonspear and secure the ruins. She can also physically move an entire building from one place to another, which is something she does as well later on, and she can alter the local physical topography on an impressive scale. It's always something of a cheeky saying that a magician is so powerful she can move mountains; well, Karra can't move a mountain, but she CAN move a fairly good sized hill.

When you're designing a castle and you know you have to defend it, this kind of magical "civil engineering" will be invaluable.

[storyreader2005]

icon_e_surprised.PNG (1.11 KiB) Viewed 21113 times

Wow!

[michaelsuave]

icon_e_surprised.PNG

Wow!

Seconded! Wow fel, this story is going to rock.

Since this is spoilers... you know, having the ability to move a door "anywhere you want" would be handy if say, hmm, some lords are bothering you... and you happen to know where the lords of say... waterdeep... live. Cut off the head of the snake...

And earth magic engineering... lava moats are nice when trying to keep enemies from getting to your walls or from digging into your caslte. makes the surrounds a little hot... but in a cold place like dragonspear, warming up the surroundings would make it easier to farm year round, and some types of volcanic ash are incredibly rich when trying to grow crops.

I'm also interested in seeing Fox use his power over the winds... specifically his power to make storms. We've seen the damage that tarrin can do when using the power of storms, how much more so will it be a factor in this series where Fox's friends are greater and lessor Djinn and there aren't any gods (that we know of so far*) that would be pissed off by him changing the weather in a certain area or to a certain extent.

[Sage4Eros]

One of the nice things about writing a story in the Forgotten Realms AD&D setting is the wealth of resource material available. One problem with it is the sheer AMOUNT of resource material (and how expensive it can all be). I wanted to share some ideas how to manage the volume of AD&D material to help with your new story. Readers who play AD&D might also find this information useful.

The first idea is that most of the AD&D books are available in PDF format. This allows you to keep your entire library of books on a laptop or USB Key and carry it with you. These PDFs are available for download using some Peer-to-Peer programs, such as emule (http://www.emule-project.net ). Just be sure to scan anything gotten for viruses before opening it for the first time. Also be aware that the PDFs are only officially allowed if you have bought the Hardback (copies of purchased material are allowed for personal use). Downloading a copy of a book not purchased is considered Piracy, although I know people who do it.

The second idea is to point out that in addition to all of the Forgotten Realms and Core books, Wizards has released a book called the "Stronghold Builder's Guidebook" which has a wealth of information for DM's & Characters who want to build strongholds. I highly recommend it as an excellent resource for the section of your story dealing with building of Fox's new home.

The third idea is a resource designed to take advantage of the "Stronghold Builder's Guidebook". I was researching maps of castles/towers etc for AD&D and found a map that included an Excel Spreadsheet of the "Stronghold Builder's Guidebook" build costs for the Wizard Tower Map. The Spreadsheet has macros and pull-down menus of all the options from the book & automatically calculates sizes and costs! I promptly copied the spreadsheet and zeroed out all the variables so that I could have a basic template to use for designing other "Strongholds". The link to the zipped wizard's tower map & spreadsheet is: http://www.breminor.com/download/Nora's ... r%20v4.zip (note- you will need "CC2 Viewer" to view the map).

A good book of castle and tower maps is "DarkFuries - Castles and Keeps" I have always been a fan of towers, and I like the one in there called "Lurfell Tower".

It is likely that you already knew most of these tips, but I liked your new story so much that I had to send you the ideas just in case any of them could have been of use. Keep up the good work.

Sage4Eros
AKA: BillyPC

[Fel]

Fox has already designed his castle.

Without going into specifics, let's just say that its defenses are somewhat unconventional and specifically targeted at defending him against people who rely on magic...like, say, the Red Wizards, or Waterdeep.

I think you'll find his ideas to be a little unusual, but quite effective.

[Mistra]

in other words, he's jason without technology but with a magical wife i think i'm gonna like this