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HappyDaze
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:59 am

Anyone have any insights into the Realmgates to share?

Do they have fixed destinations on both ends?
Do they always allow travel in both directions?
Are they always open, or do they have 'active' and 'dormant' modes?
Are there any differences between gates that move between realms and those that move within one realm?
Is gate travel safe? Is it common?
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Hyarion
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:56 am

As a personal thing, I dislike mass transit in RPGs that is cheap & fast & safe. I feel it takes a lot of the adventure out of exploration and removes a lot of potential for adventure hooks.

To that end, I have removed all Realmgates that go from one realm to somewhere else within that realm. In most cases, I have also removed most redundant Realmgates, so that there is only 1 realmgate going from Azyr to Shyish.

FInally, I have based a lot of my inspiration on Realmgates on the show Stargate (gee, I can't imagine why.... :o ), you may find some good inspiration there as well.
I hold the glaive of Law against the Earth.
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Totsuzenheni Yukimi
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:38 pm

I guess the redundancy of Realmgates in that respect depends on how big the realms are @Hyarion.
HappyDaze
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:59 am

Totsuzenheni Yukimi wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 7:30 am I guess the redundancy of Realmgates in that respect depends on how big the realms are @Hyarion.
The core setting of Soulbound is the Great Parch, an island/continent in the Realm of Aqshy. They give a map, but the map does not have a scale. One of the novels notes that a city, Draconium, lies 282 miles north of Hammerhal-Aqsha...which would be great help in making a scale if Draconium was on the map (it is not). Still, it's clear that the distance between Hammerhal-Aqsha and Anvilguard is likely at least twice this distance (assuming that Hammerhal-Aqsha is mentioned because it is the closest of the Free Cities to Draconium), making the Great Parch pretty big.
HappyDaze
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:59 am

I found some passages that address some of my questions, but some of them are contradictory. For example, supposedly tens of thousands travel the gate between the two halves of Hammerhal every day...but it also says that traffic is tightly controlled and that most living in the shadow of the gate never pass through them. Further, almost all major trade routes are absolutely dependent upon the gates and travel/trade between Realms is commonplace.

Also, it seems there are thousands of Realmgates, many of which are damaged/destroyed or lost. The Idoneth have their own undersea gates, the Kharadron have claim over aerial gates, the Grots have subterranean gates, and the Skaven can just create new (temporary?) gates by gnawing holes in reality.

While I was planning a campaign that was set for traveling in The Great Parch, that seems too limited after reading about how commonplace travel between the Realms is supposed to be (at least for important people--like Bindings of Soulbound).
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