{"id":1003,"date":"2010-04-28T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T15:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2014-11-20T14:51:52","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T14:51:52","slug":"the-ruins-of-soguer-the-central-ruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1003","title":{"rendered":"The Ruins of Soguer &#8211; the Central Ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Once again we return to the adventure The Ruins of Old Soguer, being posted piece-by-piece here on Tailslap.&nbsp; Today&#8217;s post details some of the notable locations in the central area of the vast ruined city.&nbsp; There, the remains of a great cathedral, the overgrown market square, and a mysterious still-intact tower beckon to brave explorers.<\/p>\n<p>Previous sections of the adventure can be found here:<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1041\">The  Ruins of Soguer &#8211; Introduction<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1039\">The  Ruins of Soguer &#8211; Start of the Adventure in Aguies Town &amp;  Castle<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1032\">The  Ruins of Soguer &#8211; River Journey to the Ruins<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1026\">The Ruins of Soguer &#8211; The Western Ruins<\/a><\/p>\n<div><b>3 &#8211; The Broken Cathedral<\/b> &#8211; The following can be seen from  the streets of the ruins.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/wp-content\/uploads\/cathedral.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/wp-content\/uploads\/cathedral-155x300.jpg\" width=\"165\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><i>An iron fence, twisted and flattened  in several places, surrounds the grounds of a large cathedral here.&nbsp;  The south face of the cathedral is tumbled down into rubble that chokes  the steps leading up to its open doors.&nbsp; The windows of the cathedral  still hold a few shards of stained glass.&nbsp; The wind makes a low moaning  sounds as it blows through the empty openings.&nbsp; A cemetery occupies he  northwestern portion of the grounds, and low stone walls &#8211; all that  remain of several smaller buildings stand to the west and north of the  cathedral.&nbsp; Carvings on the cornerstones of buildings at the  intersection indicate that the large road heading east-west is Market  Road, and the road leading north is Gods Road.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>A search of  the grounds and the remains of the rectory and other buildings with a successful DC  10 Perception check reveals old and weathered personal belongings such  as combs, bits of wooden dishes, and even some human bones.&nbsp; A successful DC 21 Perception check uncovers a dirt-encrusted golden holy symbol of Pelor worth 150 gold.<\/p>\n<p>Should  the players enter the cathedral they see the following:<\/p>\n<p><i>Climbing  up the steps over piles of stone blocks and rubble, you enter through  the open doorways, through a entryway with two side passages, both  filled with rubble, and into the large chapel<\/i>.&nbsp; <i>Wild birds,  disturbed by your entrance, screech in alarm and fly up and out of the  chapel. Large stone pillars rise up to support what remains of the  ceiling above.&nbsp; Much of the southern part of the roof is missing,  revealing the sky above.&nbsp; Before you, wooden pews are smashed beneath  more stone rubble.&nbsp; At the far end of the chapel is a raised dais upon  which a bare stone altar stands, carved with a relief of a sunburst, an eight-pointed star, and a gauntlet holding a sword.&nbsp; Detritus lies on the ground around the altar,  and three large windows stand open to the sky on the far wall.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>A DC 10 Religion check allows a character to recognize the carvings on the altar as the holy symbols of Pelor, Kord, and Heironeous. <\/p>\n<p>If  the players investigate the north side of the chapel they see the  following:<\/p>\n<p><i>The floor of the dais, like the rest of the chapel,  is covered with dirt, some leaves, and bits of broken stained glass.&nbsp;  There, behind the altar, lies a gruesome sight: the dessicated corpse of  a priest in age-browned robes.&nbsp; His face is twisted in a horrible  rictus of fear, and his outstretched arm points to the rear face of the  altar.&nbsp; Following his dead gesture, you read the single word that is  written there in long-dried blood: DOOM.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Searching the rest  of the cathedral reveals side passages which lead to a staircase leading  down.&nbsp; Beneath are long-ago-ransacked offices and catacombs with  cardinal&#8217;s and bishop&#8217;s sepulchers there, opened up and looted.&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p><b>Treasure  <\/b>&#8211; A search of the side chambers and offices can yield the following  treasure with the corresponding Perception skill checks; DC 10: 5 gold  worth of Sanctified Incense, DC 16: 50 gold worth of Sanctified Incense,  DC 21: 100 gold worth of Sanctified Incense and 100 gold worth of  Residuum.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>4 &#8211; Overgrown Market Square<\/b> &#8211; Traveling east down Market Road leads to the overgrown remains of the  market square.<\/p>\n<p><i>A grove of trees hundreds of feet across fills  this large open area between the ruins.&nbsp; The roots of the trees have  pushed aside the cobblestones and their branches spread out above the  walls of the empty buildings surrounding the grove.&nbsp; Walking through the  woods briefly, you come upon the remains of a large fountain in the  center.&nbsp; The large round stone basin contains some muddy dirt and chunks of stone,  and in the center, upon a pedestal a set of stone legs stand broken off  at the knees.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>A DC 16 History check brings to mind the tale  of the statue of the King of Soguer that once stood in the vast market  square of this city.&nbsp; During the height of Soguer&#8217;s power goods from all  corners of the known world were traded here.&nbsp; Over them stood a  statue of the Lidwen Staledo, King of Soguer 70 years ago, carved holding aloft the  scales of justice and a sword.&nbsp; A DC 21 History check reminds the  observer that the statue was depicted wielding the royal family&#8217;s sword  The Judge&#8217;s Tongue, the family&#8217;s symbol of the supremacy of law.<\/p><\/div>\n<div><b>5  &#8211; The Mage&#8217;s Guild Tower<\/b>, A reclusive old mage named Alidol lives  within this tower, trapped by a curse.<\/div>\n<p><i>Standing here among  the ruins of the city is a tall square tower with smooth, windowless,  slightly tapered sides.&nbsp; The once-fine facade is cracked and crumbling  and vines crawl up the walls.&nbsp; A single wide doorway stands open, the  door long gone.&nbsp;<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Details of what can be found within the tower coming in the next installment of The Ruins of Old Soguer&#8230;.<i> <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once again we return to the adventure The Ruins of Old Soguer, being posted piece-by-piece here on Tailslap.&nbsp; Today&#8217;s post details some of the notable locations in the central area of the vast ruined city.&nbsp; There, the remains of a great cathedral, the overgrown market square, and a mysterious still-intact tower beckon to brave explorers. Previous sections of the adventure can be found here:The Ruins of Soguer &#8211; IntroductionThe Ruins of Soguer &#8211; Start of the Adventure in Aguies Town &amp; CastleThe Ruins of Soguer &#8211; River Journey to the RuinsThe Ruins of Soguer &#8211; The Western Ruins 3 &#8211; The Broken Cathedral &#8211; The following can be seen from the streets of the ruins. An iron fence, twisted and flattened in several places, surrounds the grounds of a large cathedral here.&nbsp; The south face of the cathedral is tumbled down into rubble that chokes the steps leading up to its open doors.&nbsp; The windows of the cathedral still hold a few shards of stained glass.&nbsp; The wind makes a low moaning sounds as it blows through the empty openings.&nbsp; A cemetery occupies he northwestern portion of the grounds, and low stone walls &#8211; all that remain of several smaller buildings stand to the west and north of the cathedral.&nbsp; Carvings on the cornerstones of buildings at the intersection indicate that the large road heading east-west is Market Road, and the road leading north is Gods Road. A search of the grounds and the remains of the rectory and other <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/?p=1003\">Continue Reading &#8594;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[506],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-the-ruins-of-soguer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/unicornrampant.com\/newccb\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}