Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. Today we assemble in the halls of the Coastal Tower.
Coastal Tower
Coastal Tower is an old rebuilt lighthouse that once sat on a lonely coast, keeping the ships that had to ply the reef-filled waters around it, safe. That all ended when it was discovered that the cliffs where the old lighthouse sat were found to be full of gold. Within decades a whole new city had grown up around it, and due to the wealth, had grown into a power to be reckoned with in the region.
None were richer than House Capashen, who purchased the lighthouse, rebuilt and expanded on it. The gold rush has since ended, but the city is stronger than ever, as is House Capashen, who seems to get richer each year. The region has acquired a sinister reputation among sailors however due to the number of ships that disappear here, and some suspect that a kraken has taken up residence nearby, though divination magic has revealed nothing. In reality, the dangers is far simpler.
Lay of the Land
The Coastal Tower reaches up 300 feet into the air, and is easily the tallest building in the region, but it had been decommissioned as a lighthouse some decades ago, when the Capashens bought it, and is now the residence of the family instead, from where they can look down upon the commoners and other nobles of the city and the region.
The tower is magically warded against intruders, and no thief has ever managed to breach its walls, or at least none have lived to tell the tale. Even so, it draws in many who want to attempt the feat, as the tower holds the incredible wealth of House Capashen.
Gaining formal entry is somewhat easier though, as the Capashens frequently hold balls and galas. In fact, the family has established a tradition of holding a gala whenever one of the frequent storms comes rolling in – something that happens most frequently in the spring and autumn months, though the winter ones are far more vicious. During these times, guests are invited to the grand hall, and nobles and rich commoners mingle in a deadly dance of intrigue. It isn’t too uncommon for one of the invitees to die during the festivities though House Capashen views such actions with great dissatisfaction and works to hunt down the culprits, working diligently with the constabulary of the city.
Dangers
House Capashen is not as innocent as it seems, though it is true that they’re GREATLY annoyed whenever one of the galas go out of control and someone works a little TOO hard at the intrigue game. Intrigues and cloak and dagger stuff are to be expected amongst the nobility, but the Capashens do not approve of deadly force within their walls (though duels are a more-or-less-accepted alternative).
The reason for this: The Capashens do not want the constabulary to look too closely at the House or the Coastal Tower itself, as it is still a functioning lighthouse. In fact, when the storms come, the festivities are used to hide the fact that the Tower is still functional. And they use the Coastal Tower to drive ships to their doom upon the reefs. And while the nobles of the city are blissfully celebrating, the lesser members of House Capashen are out there in the waters, killing any sailor that doesn’t die when their ship wrecks and stealing the cargo of these ships. Occasionally they manage to grab the entire ship, and it is then refitted and either turned into a cargo ship of House Capashen (they have multiple ships that look alike and carry the same name to hide their true numbers) – which is a profitable endeavor for them. Some though, are turned to piracy as well, with the more warlike of the House taking “holidays” away from the city to become a buccaneer for a season or two. As a result, most of the people in House Capashen are skilled swordsmen, having led many crews in boarding actions.
This was something a little else this week, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. 😊
Kim Frandsen
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