Update

Greetings,

The ground floor is complete, the second windows are in, and I expect to have the second floor complete by the end of this weekend. I figure a week before the model is complete, though there could always be unforeseen setbacks.

Regarding the Portown model, once you have the model, you can use the Sketchup tools to explore it. The orbit tool looks like a red and green top. Use this to change your perspective on the model. If you hold SHIFT while you are using the orbit tool, it activates the pan feature. You can use the zoom tool zoom into any part of the model. A wheel mouse makes this very easy. Otherwise, you'll have to use the zoom button, which can be cumbersome.

Doing this may raise questions about the model, and I've created a list of answers to what I expect are the common ones.

First, a word about the campaign. I have shamelessly borrowed, used, modified and grafted from many different sources. I use Tolkien's elvish languages in my campaign, but there are others. To avoid copyright infringement, I will 'translate' any names or copyrighted material into something of approximate meaning that will keep me from being sued. These will be preceded with an asterisk.

In Kemen, Portown is busy port city, as it is one of only two cities along 500 miles of coastline that has both a natural deep water harbor and soil compact and stable enough to support building. There are trade routes to the south, and these connect Portown to a number of other centers of trade. The difference of course is that Portown has access to the sea. The climate is similar to Florida or the Caribbean, and the winds blow from the west-southwest. Though not as destitute as some villages, it is only the abundance provided by its position on the trade routes that allow for some of the luxuries the town enjoys. Though not the dressed stone extravagance of Minax Daro to the east, Portown's building are of brick or wood planks with wooden shingles rather than thatch. Architectural features are very limited.

 

There are three main sources of legitimate industry in Portown: the sea, trade, and local shops. “The sea” includes fishermen, sailors and seamen on vessels of all types, and all associated trades such as ship building, sail making, and hook and linemen. “Trade” refers to merchants in charge of overseeing the transportation and storage of goods and commodities, owners of warehouses, caravan organizers etc. “Local shops” includes local carpenters stonemasons, taverns and inns, and any local trades.

Almost no raw food production occurs in Portown. Most is brought in by merchants. In addition to trade, Portown in known for some manufactured goods. In addition to hooks, lines and sails, candles, pig iron, and some textiles occur here as well.

There are, of course, illegitimate industries as well. These are robbery and theft, underground slave trade, and magic.

The “quarter” directly south of the warehouse district is the least affluent, and most buildings include several residences. In fact, the larger buildings are apartments and tenements (Roman insulae [apartment buildings] were often ten stories high, and medieval Egyptian apartments have been reported to be 14 stories high – for those who are concerned about historical accuracy), with many rooms on upper floors. Often, there are external staircases, usually of dubious construction and maintenance. Hand rails are considered a luxury ( and, I didn't feel like doing them). Others have interior staircases.

Notes

• Why do the buildings have siding? For variety. Pretend it is unfinished wood.
• Why do most of the buildings have the same roof material? Guilds and available materials. In my campaign, Portown is a warm water port and lumber is plentiful. Where there are similarities, assume guilds or convenience.
• Why are there no windows on the west walls? In my campaign, Portown is located in a warm weather region. Western windows are limited to keep out the heat. Mostly where they occur it is on upper levels to help create cross ventilation.
• Why are the buildings in the merchant quarter so low? Most to the merchants have their shop on the main level, and a sleeping loft above. This loft is not usually large enough to stand up in.
• Warehouses: These are made of brick. Inside, many have second levels many of tightly fitted oak. This usually for the storage of foodstuffs like grain and the like, and is designed to keep rodents out.
• Shipwright: This building has a lower floor that is designed for shipbuilding. There is a cradle inside, rather than a true drydock , but this is on rollers so that a vessel in progress can be rolled outside to be finished. Stairs along the west wall lead to a cross shaped living and storage area. It is cross ventilated by octagonal windows.
• Sailmaker's: There are in fact a number of sailmakers here, and more than one project going on at a time. There second floor is accessed from the outside stairs. It is a cross shaped space that is used by the sailmakers and their apprentices. The position includes room and board.
• What's going on with that trench? This is intended to be more representational than accurately to scale. I thought it might be useful for those intending to run a Shadow Over Innsmouth type adventure. Pretend it's further out to sea if you like. I didn't intend it to be quite as deep as it turned out, but when I attempted to change it, the model started to unravel so I left it. It's possible that it may have some breakwater effect upon the inlet, but I'm no expert. Have fun with it. Or change it. Whatever. (This feature is covered by the “sea.” It may possible to 'zoom' beneath the sea, or perhaps make the layer not visible to view the trench. I don't know, I haven't had the chance to try).
• What can you tell me about the scale of the model? Not much. I imported the original map into Sketchup, and used the scale from that map. I converted the distance into pixels and then into inches. Three inches in Sketchup works out to about 3.5 feet. I may have screwed this up, but I screwed it up consistently and used the same scale throughout.
• How come it looks all perfect? I would love it if there was a tool that would weather things, beat them up a bit. I imagine that all the buildings along the water are covered in a layer of salt from the sea, and that certain houses are less maintained than others. Perhaps, if I were Rembrandt and were willing to make custom materials for all these places, and I were willing to devote more time to this, that would be possible. But I'm not. Besides, this file is already large and ungainly.

Feel free to post any other questions you may have and I'll answer as soon as I can.

 

Best, A.