Oct/Nov 2014 Lite Challenge: <The Druid's Gift>

[Chick]

The Druid's Gift

In my adventuring group, about two adventures from now, the party is going to rescue the lover of one of the nine Archdruids in the world. I've been thinking for some time about how the Archdruid will reward the party, and this challenge has given me the answer.

A small stone shelter, with a Shrink and Permanency spell cast on it!

Measuring only about two inches on a side when shrunk, this small chunk of sandstone is actually a stone shelter made using the druidic Stone Shape spell.

Because the Shrink will work only on exactly one object, the entire shelter must be a single piece of stone, so all the walls, tables, beds, and other contents must be Stone Shaped into one.

The caster of the Shrink spell, under Permanency, can shrink or enlarge the object at will.

The druids will create this object using sandstone for the walls, floor, and roof, marble for the interior fittings, and some diorite for a firepit, casting Stone Shape spells as needed until all the stone is melded into a single piece.

The party's mage is able to do Shrink, and the Archdruid will then make it Permanent.

This will be the perfect reward!!



Well, maybe not perfect, but close. Limitations of the spells will limit the size of the shelter to 10x12' including walls, extremely cramped for a party of six. But after all, it is made of solid stone, so as a sanctuary, it works pretty well.

Ooops, one problem, there can't be a door per se, since there cannot be any moveable (thus detached) parts. No door, hmmm, something to guard the entrance ....?

Oh well, they'll think of something.

A couple of nice advantages you might not think of .... shrinking the shelter does not affect anything that is inside of it. All that stuff just falls to the ground. That means ....

1. No need to clean out the ashes from the firepit, it's automatic on shrinking.

2. In case of attack, the shelter disappears (into a small chunk on the ground or the mage's hand), and the party is instantly free from the cramped space. Of course if they are sleeping at the time, there may be a loud thump or two...

The party consists of an Elven cleric, a Dwarf fighter, a Human ranger, a Human mage, a Halfling rogue, and a Human fighter. I think the Dwarf and Halfling will have to have the bottom bunks, as they don't climb too well.

And of course everyone will keep their weapon in their bunk ready for use, but a place to stick the rest of the gear would be nice .... perhaps in with the Halfling?

Maybe a table to eat on and for a few games of chance to pass away the evening hours ....

This will be fun!!

[Bogie]

Great concept!

[Chick]

I've tentatively planned out the interior. Finding space for six bunks, a table with seating, and some storage space in 10x12x8' took some thinking.

I used to do this kind of thing by cutting out little squares of paper in appropriate sizes and rearranging them around on a base floor plan drawn on a sheet of paper. Then computers came along (yes, I'm old enough to remember the pre-PC days).

Now I use Excel to do this. By resizing columns and rows to be squares, I can get the exact dimensions set up, including the space taken by walls, often ignored by dungeon builders.

Then I use cell fill colors to quickly allocate the space to furniture or other structures. This makes an amazingly quick and very accurate way of arranging things and seeing what it would look like. This method can be used for top-down space planning, or side-view to see the spacing of areas or of vertical components.

Here, for example, I see there is only six inches of space between the edge of the lower bunk and the table, seemingly not enough. So I have to make the table high enough for people to slide their knees under as they sit. I'll plan the vertical spacing in a different worksheet.

Anyway, the beginnings of a map for the Druid's Gift of the Stone Sanctuary.

[Chick]

Here is how I've planned out the space vertically. I had to reduce the thickness of the floor and roof by 3" each to get what I considered enough space for sleeping, and even so it's cramped, but I think reasonable.

[Chick]

Here is a plan view of the shelter. The 3 bunks on each side are stacked, but the lower one is wider to provide a bench for the table. The shelves are stacked as well, to provide several shelves to stick in packs and other small carried items that are not needed at immediate hand.

Note that because of the one-piece-of-stone nature of this shelter, the entrance is open. I'm thinking stuff the entryway with cut thorn bushes.....?

### Latest WIP ###
...........


I'm not sure whether the labels are expected for something like this or not. Is there a protocol about when things should be labeled, even when as obvious as this?

[Bogie]

This is coming along good Chick.
Looking at the side view I have a couple thoughts, most obvious is the top bunk is wider than the middle bunk which will lead to some bashed heads, second, the humans will grumble about the little halfling getting the widest bottom bunk. They are good climbers and can easily use the table to get in the middle bunk. Bunks on older submarines were only 2 ft wide and often only had 18 to 20 inches of vertical clearance, so these bunks are fine.

[Chick]

Never having been on a submarine, I'll be delighted to take your word for that

It's true the top bunk is a bit wider. I just figured the extra space could be used effectively that way, but the head bashing danger does sound likely, so maybe I'll cut that back after all.

As for who gets which bunk, I guess they can fight it out among themselves

Thanks for the comments!

I wonder if anyone else is going to join this challenge .....

[Larb]

I picture several banged knees on that central table - there only seems to be 6" of leg room. Perhaps it could be wedge shaped?

I hope some other people join this challenge too. I'd do so but I already have a gold compass.

[Chick]

Hi Larb, thanks for the thought. I believe I have spaced it so an adult can slide into the bench comfortably. I measured on my own table and chair to see how it worked, and used that spacing. I do think bogie is right about the head room though, you have to half-stand as you slide in so I'll make the middle and top bunks far enough back.

[Chick]

Here is a side view, from the POV of the center, showing one set of bunks and the shelves.