Sandworm Lair Loot

[cttw]

I always think all the loot is left there by the adventurers that died, greedy to find all the treasure. Basically when I'm playing, in my head I'm looting you guys' stuff.

[Velorien]

Why is everyone so negative about the chests? Pirates would naturally bury their treasure on accessible beaches rather than deep inland mountains. I'm sure they're hopping mad when they can't later find their booty, lost in the endlessly shifting sand churned by burrowing sandworms.

Nice one.

The only catch is that IIRC no other land mass than the Western Continent was ever discovered. Meaning no significant naval traffic of the sort that classical treasure-burying pirates existed to prey upon.

It also doesn't help that there's only one known city anywhere near water (Elvala), and no sign of any harbours or merchant shipping (I can't even think of a single lore reference to ships beyond those that went out and failed to find other lands).

[netzakh]

I propose reducing the number of Sandworm Lair levels to two. In addition, when the Queen is killed, I suggest the following until the player leaves the Sandworm Lair.

• The levels are completely lit.
• The burrowers are removed.
• The player receives the burrower power.

I hope this keeps the fun of this zone while removing most of its tedium.

[snoop]

The only catch is that IIRC no other land mass than the Western Continent was ever discovered. Meaning no significant naval traffic of the sort that classical treasure-burying pirates existed to prey upon.

It also doesn't help that there's only one known city anywhere near water (Elvala), and no sign of any harbours or merchant shipping (I can't even think of a single lore reference to ships beyond those that went out and failed to find other lands).

Hmm. Well, Last Hope is right on a river, not too far from the ocean, I figure the river must be navigable up to at least Last Hope.

If I think about naval traffic patterns in Maj'Eyal, other than some local fishing fleets I'd go with there being a trade route between Elvala and Lost Hope, and that's it. The shape of the continent and the sparseness of the cities, and likely the presence of lots of sea monsters and such, argues against there being much more naval traffic. Perhaps there used to be more cities on the coasts before they were destroyed in the Spellblaze?

edit: looking at the map again, you could certainly argue for the dwarves sending their goods down to Last Hope on the river, and some enterprising Derthian setting up some sort of barge convoy to get from the big lake down to Elvala. Maybe even Zigur uses the river nearby to get down to the ocean. I'm sure all of these routes would have been exploited before the Spellblaze.

[Grey]

There was definitely more naval travel pre-Spellblaze.

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

Indeed. Pale drake even came from an island nation, with naval trade for supply.