Redesign of Eastern Farmlands...

[Steve]

Baldur's Gate from the Forgotten Realms Atlas book:

[ValerieJean]

TBH I've been thinking that someone should re-make that whole 'The Wide' area where the market stalls are. It's way too cramped at the merchant. Only 2 characters can access the merchant at the same time. It also still says the area is blighted... and is overall lacklustre.

Would be nice to indeed move the auctioneer out there and have some other fun merchants there. Place a garden instead in the Palace District!

I'm not for or against changing atm but just yesterday I know 4 ppl had accessed the merchant guy at E Farmlands.

[Lambe]

From Steve's map it looks like the docks can be put together with the East Gate district. The Palace district can stay enclosed within the Old Wall there.

[Blame The Rogue]

the FAI will still be a hub, if not the hub. location, location, location

we need to think of ways to draw people to the gate

perhaps it would help if you could "hop a wagon" between FAI and the gate. quick travel between those two areas would make it easier to loiter in the gate, then go directly to FAI, and adventure. of course the wagon train should have a level restriction. unless we want level 1 characters popping up at FAI, stepping into the woods, and being eaten

[MrPsion]

perhaps it would help if you could "hop a wagon" between FAI and the gate.

This would be very helpful to low level d4s looking for rp

[Darradarljod]

The nostalgia is real.

[Calantyr]

the FAI will still be a hub, if not the hub. location, location, location

we need to think of ways to draw people to the gate

perhaps it would help if you could "hop a wagon" between FAI and the gate. quick travel between those two areas would make it easier to loiter in the gate, then go directly to FAI, and adventure. of course the wagon train should have a level restriction. unless we want level 1 characters popping up at FAI, stepping into the woods, and being eaten

Add boats that leave Baldur's Gate docks that go to areas with all CR's (including the various outposts controlled by the Flaming Fist, like Chult). It then becomes a hub location that's valid for characters of all levels.

But it's a lot of work.

[Steve]

The way to make Baldur's Gate the hub of the Server, is to respect the GRAND IMPORTANCE of the Wide merchant area, and that Baldur's Gate is a MAJOR CANON HUB for trade on the Sword Coast.

The way to do this is redirect what lures most Players around the Server: Wares and XP (with social RP a distant 3rd... )

Thus, take all consignment/Mudd's away and place 1 in the Wide of BG, and 1 in Darkhold. This would make Lore sense. But...if people couldn't handle that, than choose Soubar over Darkhold.

Second action would be to create Areas tied to Baldur's Gate by 1 transition point, that facilitate ever CR bracket from Level 1 to Level 30. When I was Head DM, I was working with tfunke to make this a reality, but...well, the story is long and though tfunke was willing, it still didn't manifest.

The Gate ALREADY has many CR brackets covered, it just needs some Epic CRs covered, and I know how that can be done cause I already worked on the theoretical layout some years ago. Honestly, at this moment, it would only take a few options additions to either Caravan NPCs or Boatman NPCs.

[Valefort]

Epic areas are already on BG's doorstep with the vault at 2 transitions away, graypeaks 3 transitions away, naga 4, dragonspear 4, reaching woods 4...

Mudd should be removed from the FAI, put one in Nashkel and one in Darkhold, tie them to location. Make the Wide bigger, set the merchant in BG farmlands to max 1000 gold buyout so that people won't sell items there but in the Wide instead (except the low levels but that's totally fine).

Add a location along the Chionthar to the east that you can access with boat, Elturel maybe. Add islands, Orlumbor, Mintarn, accessible from Roaringshore or BG. Split Avernus shop content with most in BG and Sshammath, with little commonly shared if possible.

[Blame The Rogue]

if we want to draw folks to the gate, wouldn't we have blunt pay more for items? or maltz? 1350 max like thunderhammer?

[Valefort]

A guy in the Wide rather than those two I'd say

Perhaps a merchant with randomized items like Rockrun, that would probably be best.

[Steve]

Perhaps a merchant with randomized items like Rockrun, that would probably be best.

Most definitely this!!

The sewers of BG could also get a transition to Roaringshore or Ulgoth's. Server Campaign events of the past have established that shallow bottom boats could travel far up the Chionthar.

A few public and regular events taking place within BG could also help make the City more fun for RP.

Making the NPC in the Eastern Farmlands be able to take one to Soubar or Beregost, would help (maybe too easy?)

[Valefort]

Ulgoth is more than 60km away from Baldur's Gate, not even talking about Roaringshore

As for shallow boats they can travel up the Chionthar up to Iriaebor and that's the second trade route after the ocean, inland ones are lagging far behind, BG is like Hambourg or Antwerp in medieval times.

[LISA100595]

We did some changes to BG east gate, with more coming in a while, I was thinking of bg east farmlands after that but maybe the palace district, it does seem like the palace district requires a greater amount of work.

You should check with Duster first to see if he still has the "non-blighted" version of the city, that will make it easier to start with.

[Steve]

Ulgoth is more than 60km away from Baldur's Gate, not even talking about Roaringshore

Yeah, but...who doesn't want to take a skimpy little rowboat by moonlight from a secret portal dock leaving out one of the sewer outlets...!!! What sneaky fun!!! What smelly fun!!

One additional thing I would suggest needs to happen: a paradigm shift in the in-character role-play Lore aspect of Baldur's Gate. Essentially, BG has the Dukes and the Fist, but also has a yuuuuge underground, thieves with power, a major Temple to Umberlee, etc....and this essentially means the City should cater to a bit more "evil"-minded role-play. BG can no longer feel like this artificially "safe hub" for our toons OOC and IC—it needs to shift to have "sectors" or neighborhoods were lawlessness is happening and there are no auto-script guards nor DMs ready to stop that shit before it starts.

I know this will take some heavy lifting, both on the part of the Server Staff/DMs and the Playerbase, but...just imagine how much more interesting it will become if the semi-shady can be present within the Gate in certain areas—not in others, natch!—and thus bring more of the Player population to come to actually populate BG.