Café de Nuit

My player group has taken an adventure I had planned out and decided to turn it into a hostage situation/rampage of sorts. The issue is the original adventure (which was located in two specific areas of the museum) was mapped out and they have gone so far off the rails they will have free reign of the whole place and will likely desire a floor plan. Don't worry about sinister things or where the adventure is going. I am going to be full of surprises for them in that respect.

So taking all the wonderful minds and twisted talents, I am asking for some brainstorming for exhibits to fill the joint. Here are some of what I have so far, feel free to suggest others. Thanks in advance!

-Amber Wastes exhibition with several items pulled from the sands and centuries old tombs.
-The various flora specimins of Borca
-Texts and religious icons of Rokushima Taiyoo
-Gifts from the emissaries from Sri Raji (statues, vases and ceremonial uniforms)
-Stuffed fish species from the Sea of Sorrows and the Nocturnal Sea
-Insect species from Souragne
-Series of historical exhibits of Zherisia's past (before and after entry into Ravenloft)
-An entire floor contains specific art objects and paintings from various nations from all over the known world showcasing the styles and talents of the people in this world.

Dark Angel wrote:So taking all the wonderful minds and twisted talents, I am asking for some brainstorming for exhibits to fill the joint. Here are some of what I have so far, feel free to suggest others. Thanks in advance!

I'm guessing the Museum is based on the RL British Museum, circa the Victorian era?

But a few base questions to orient myself if I may...
* How big is the building (how many floors, etc)
* Is there any big events going on/planned (eg: The Great Exhibition of 1851)
* Are there any 'fads' currently going on (eg: The Victorian Egyptian fad)
* How much money is sloshing around - Paridon has been a bit economically unstable since the crop lands disappeared)
* Is it open publically or is access restricted to the upper classes/scholars?

DustBunny wrote:

Dark Angel wrote:So taking all the wonderful minds and twisted talents, I am asking for some brainstorming for exhibits to fill the joint. Here are some of what I have so far, feel free to suggest others. Thanks in advance!

We'll just tackle these one at a time....

~I'm guessing the Museum is based on the RL British Museum, circa the Victorian era?

Yes and no, it is essentially based on that in concept, but without a massive empire to 'feed' it the building itself will be of a much lesser scale and scope.

* How big is the building (how many floors, etc)

There are 4 floors and the building will be fairly narrow to limit what I need to fill and to keep with the tall, cramped aspect of Paridon. There are two levels of basement used for restoration and storage (primarily). I was thinking of keeping the first floor limited to offices, some storage, and all public areas (entrance, restrooms, etc) along with the history of Paridon (before and after Ravenloft entrance, royal lines, innovations, etc). The 4th floor will be reserved for art pieces and paintings from all over the Core. The 2nd and 3rd floors will be filled with items suggested from this post (and a map can be loaded here at some point for all to benefit from).

* Is there any big events going on/planned (eg: The Great Exhibition of 1851)

The Amber Wastes exhibition (3rd floor) is the newest one with items and objects pulled from Sebua primarily * Are there any 'fads' currently going on (eg: The Victorian Egyptian fad)

Definitely going with the Egyptomania fad of the Victorian Era with the populace going crazy over the artifacts of Sebua and Har'Akir. The big events will continue until attendance drops then the next big thing will be rolled out (this being a genuine mummy of a royal line contained in a protective sarcophagus that the curator has yet to be able to open and confirm it's contents).

* How much money is sloshing around - Paridon has been a bit economically unstable since the crop lands disappeared)

In my setting, Paridon was placed within the Core in 742 at the area between Richemulot, Dementlieu and Mordent. They would later unify with the former two for technological and agricultural benefits, but it is largely unchanged politically in any way. Paridon is doing well financially in any sense and the government, university, and upper crust support the museum.

* Is it open publically or is access restricted to the upper classes/scholars?

It is open to the public (within reason, no obvious diseased people) and is about as far away as one can get from Blackchapel. So the chances of being willing and able to travel the width of the city without being 'redirected' back to where they are from. Cost to enter is 1 pound for adults, 3 pence for children, and 5 pence for students of the nearby university also helps keep out the 'riff raff' who can barely afford food much less the luxury of the items of the museum.

A while ago, I had an idea that might fit quite nicely into the Museum of Paridon.

Behold the tale of Melubat the erinyes! And I recommend reading the replies, which made some excellent points. ^_^

I might have a few ideas:

• An exhibit of "fairy houses" made by superstitious folk who live near the Shadow Rift, trying to keep away ill attention by providing for the fair folk.
• The original manuscripts of a famous author or composer native to Paridon.
• Weapons, armor, and other equipment with no stylistic relatives in the known world (possessions of outlanders from a world not generally represented in Ravenloft).
• Star charts, sextants, and astrolabes from historical seafarers.

Rock wrote:A while ago, I had an idea that might fit quite nicely into the Museum of Paridon.

Behold the tale of Melubat the erinyes! And I recommend reading the replies, which made some excellent points. ^_^

Not a bad concept, agree with the points others make/made, but I am not putting in for a few reasons. My current adventure is pulled from a Dungeon Magazine adventure and the current curator has kind of a 'no live exhibits' attitude. Also, as mentioned, the mundane background stuff is the thing I need right now. A devil in a cage is one hell of a curve ball. But if things go as I think they will, there will be a need for a new curator who may have a different policy for exhibits to show the general public.

I also agree about the freak show carrying her, but she would not stick around.

From reading the prior posts I'll set some rules for myself
* No live exhibits
* No super stuff, all mundane
* Limited space
* Some congruent with a early Victorian England.

And off we go!

Hall of Animals
A hall filled with (stuffed due to the no live exhibit rule mentioned) exotic animals from other domains – blood hawks, tigers, a goblyn, pinned butterflies, etc. The animals are posed in lifelike poses and occasionally are placed in a small ‘natural environment’. (eg: The tiger is lying on a rock with some bones, a monkey swings from a branch)) And pride of the show in the middle – a small elephant from Siri Raj!

If the PC’s happen to wander in there during the night, it could get very creepy very fast as numerous sightless glass eyes follow their movements. And did that 10’ Kodiak just move….

Hall of Minerals
A lot of display cases of various minerals and gems carefully ordered. Ranging from pretty quartz to gemstones (fake, but they look real), small ingots of various metals, geodes and crystals. And if kids are well behaved they are even allowed to touch a real gold ingot (under supervision)! To stir things up a little you could have a real hag’s eye from Tepest and a Blaustien sapphire

A little boring, but if the PC’s are doing their job, they might accidently bump into a petty thief trying to steal stuff. Another hassle when the mummy of AmunSomeOne is chasing them.

Hall of Science
Displays of technology from basic tools to the ‘latest’ in modern technology – though some of the ‘modern’ machines are downright weird. Throw in some typical steampunk/mad science things – primitive voltaic piles, spinning Wimshurst machines, bubbling flasks and have a you hit with self-professed scholars.

You could also include oddities like the 'mechanical woman' from the Hour of the Knife adventure, or some of the really weird inventions from the period - and these are the sane ones.

The World of Books
Books, scrolls, stone tablets and more. Glass cases containing a large array of written texts – from history books before Ravenloft, beautifully illustrated religious texts, stone tablets with undecipherable script. Noting magical or cursed, but there are some oddities – like the book whose ink glows faintly (phosphor in the ink), a stone table whose script looks different when view at differing angles (Tabula scalata), or even a ‘flick book’ type kineograph.

Clothes of the Core
Given the location you have placed your Paridon (Richemulot, Dementlieu and Mordent) and that two of these are the major ‘Culture Centres’ of RL have an exhibition of mannequins dressed on the latest fashions and displays. Throw in some other historical things such as spinning wheels and looms to show how clothing techniques changed, and maybe even an experimental mechanical loom to show off. And mannequins are always creepy

Of course this exhibit is sponsored by a textile manufacturer.

The Rooms of Mystery
A round the same time as the real great exhibition, England also has a big fad for ‘supernatural’ stuff. Taro readings, ghosts and séances, horoscopes, crystal balls etc. There is no reason why Paridon would have something similar. A room filed with various displays ‘fortune telling’ devices from across the domains – runes, cards, bones, rattles, astrological charts and the like. Displays on mesmerism, hypnosis, phrenology and more speculative pseudoscience (though not so pseudo in R-Loft).

Have some big shaman masks, odd tools and other ‘voodoo’ like devices to boost the ambience about the dark and mysterious supernatural. And maybe even offer free horoscope consultations for that extra cash from the rubes.

I have some more ideas, but I'll let others speak err post as well.

Note: I just realised that Paridon is a combination of PARIs and lonDON.

DustBunny wrote:From reading the prior posts I'll set some rules for myself
* No live exhibits
* No super stuff, all mundane
* Limited space
* Some congruent with a early Victorian England.

Note: I just realised that Paridon is a combination of PARIs and lonDON.

These are good and I am squeezing more in now so the place is bigger than I originally planned.

Thanks Dust Bunny!

Also-Paris & London= Paridon? [Mind officially blown]

Dark Angel wrote:

DustBunny wrote: Note: I just realised that Paridon is a combination of PARIs and lonDON.

Also-Paris & London= Paridon? [Mind officially blown]

Chuckle... always fun to see someone notice this for the first time. Welcome to the club.

I knew Blackchapel is a reference to London's Whitechapel district, where the Jack the Ripper murders took place… but which parts of Paridon reference Paris again? ^^;

Rock wrote:I knew Blackchapel is a reference to London's Whitechapel district, where the Jack the Ripper murders took place… but which parts of Paridon reference Paris again? ^^;

I would say the easy answer would be the extensive sewer system, but too be fair the city of Paridon existed before it was combined with Timor.

Building on the room of mystery idea, you could have more 'supernatural' (or alleged supernatural) items on display like 'the fang of a vampire' or ratty pelt 'from a werewolf' (may or may not be fake, a regular wolf pelt, or an actual werewolf pelt).

Have small cases, instead of whole rooms, dedicated to some of the small, unusual domains:

-'A set of items recovered from the mysterious Castle Forlorn' including a couple of books and just random castle items like tableware & silverware, dishes, maybe a small bust of some unknown person.

-'Artifacts of a long lost civilization in the Bluetspur mountains' are just a few random rocks that look like they might be bricks, or tools, or arrowheads or the like.

-'A specimen of an unknown species from the Barovian Forests/an uncharted island'. Depending on where you place Markov's domain, and just have one of his creatures that was killed stuffed. Some kind of humanoid animal thing. Bonus points if its one of the weirder ones (dolphin, say, in which case it could just be 'from the Sea of Sorrows').