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Neithernor Reborn: Thornhouse
So the Day of Change is coming up soon. I know a few of you had been wondering what that would look like this year, and now it’s time to start thinking about it seriously.
Do you remember when CJ announced the new Neithernor Reborn roleplay? Well we’ve been figuring out the technical aspects of it, but we need all of you to help with the creative bits.
So for now, your role is to figure out what our guild house looks like. Previously, we had decided that our guild house would be a lighthouse on a stormy cliff, chock full of libraries. Do we want to totally change it and make it a sprawling mansion instead? A system of underground caves? A single bookshelf in a field? Okay that last one might be a little silly, but my point is, we can change whatever we want.
Or, we could just change the details. Maybe we don’t like the constant storm outside. That’s fine, we can scrap that. Don’t like stairs? Magimechanical elevator system it is. Is it too cliche to make the Mindflame into a literal fire at the top of the building? That’s okay too.
Ultimately, I just want our guild house to be a place we can all enjoy and see ourselves in. So please post any and all ideas in the thread below. Even if it’s silly, or you don’t think others will like it. We’ll all work together to envision our Guild House, and I’m sure in the end we’ll have something pretty cool to play with.
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47 Replies
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This may sound odd, but I really love the idea of castle kind-of like a cross between Neuschwanstein castle and Eilean Donan on a sea cliff (sorry, I’m not too flash with description), with the tallest tower being the home of the mindflame, and the cliff below filled with snaking tunnels, secret reading nooks and temperature controlled rooms for the really special books.
I do like the dark and stormy aspect though, it really serves to highlight the brightness of the mindflame far better than a lovely sunny day could.
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I’ve always liked the lighthouse idea as it reflects the icon of the Thornmouth badge, but with the number of guild members at this point a lighthouse isn’t really spacious for everyone to gather there. I’m totally behind a huge castle though, and the mindflame could be an actual flame held deep beneath the castle in secret tunnels.
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I would like to formally request an elevator for those of us who are, at minimum, nominally disabled. Please and thank you.
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I like picturing a sprawling manor house with turrets and towers filled with books and books and laboratories and chalkboards
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If we don’t want to keep the storm, as an alternate safety measure, wherever we pick could appear to be super run down and overgrown, but when you step inside it’s actually pretty sweet, similar to Hogwarts
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And Thane’s house in The Paper Magician!
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I like the castle or Manor looks. There could be a courtyard that holds the Mindflame in what looks like a water fountain but it’s fire. Or even a lighthouse-looking tower, as sort of a homage to the actual lighthouse, to house the Mindflame.
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I really like there being a lighthouse tower attached to a manor or castle.
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Yes, the lighthouse tower attached to the castle/manor house is a rad idea
I really like the idea that the storm isn’t what it seems too…makes me think of Don’tgonearthecastle in Uberwald
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I like this castle-manor idea! Surrounded by walls/a gate that opens onto a central courtyard, with the lighthouse-esque tower in the middle of the building itself and an entrance into it (as well as other…wings? turrets?) opening into the courtyard?
I just want it to have a really dramatic silhouette
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Oh a castle/manor would be wonderful! Plenty of space for us all as well! We could have large windows that allow light to flood in on sunny days to sit by while we read. I also agree that having a lighthouse or tower in there somewhere would be nice. It is our symbol after all
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“It started with a lighthouse, high on a clifftop surrounded by bramble and rose, but it became where the Mindflame chose to be kept.
Then came a time of troubles and the Mindflame needed to be kept safe from those who sought to misuse it, so the castle was built to protect the Lighthouse.
In time these troubles faded, and the number of the Mindflame’s tenders grew. Out from the walls of the castle they built the manor and its many wings, where they could live in comfort and peace. Here is where they keep their libraries, their collections of curiosities, and their beanbags.
The castle, no longer needed for war, is turned to research. Its solid stone walls are perfect for laboratories, safe from fire and explosions should things go … amiss.
The Lighthouse, now as then, and maybe for all time, holds the Mindflame, the beacon of knowledge that guides us all through the stormy days, and starry nights.”
I got a little inspired. Please don’t see this as me setting anything in stone! I just love the imagery you’re all creating.
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squeals with delight
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Ooh i love that!
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I really like the idea of the layers of the building styles.
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Omg that is a fantastic idea! I love the layers of history you’ve put into it like a real building!!!
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I’m absolutely loving the castle overlooking the sea imagery, with the Mindflame held in a tower overlooking the ocean and a courtyard below for gatherings. Elements of old and new blending seamlessly throughout for a space that seems timeless, preserves the history of Neithernor, and still makes it easy to access the most cutting-edge resources for gathering and sharing knowledge.
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So that seems really cool for the exterior, but what do you think the inside looks like? I haven’t heard many ideas for that yet.
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So this is some concept art I had on my phone from long ago for thornhouse interior ideas.
Personally I’ve never really thought that the thornhouse had one particular interior design but was just an organised mess if different styles from different time periods and different countries. I’ve also thought that it’d be somewhat of a maze that would guide you to the book you need rather then want. So you might be walking through a old English Victorian library and turn a corn to find yourself in a medieval Japanese library with scrolls instead of leather bound books. The thornhouse wouldn’t be organised in a sane persons way but in a very Thornmouth way so to speak.
(Edit: Oh btw only use my ramblings as inspiration as I wanna see what you new people create and not old geezers like me
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We could have the ceilings illustrated to tell different stories of our favourite tales! Oooo and lovely plush rugs to line the halls and make everything super cozy. There could be dome shaped rooms that are connected by archways and all the walls could be lined with books. Each room being separated by a different subject(s).
It’s really lovely seeing everyone’s different ideas for what we can do!
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At least a few labs underground as well… I’m definitely going to need a lab.
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I really like that second picture Rimor posted with the library “hall”. I could definitely see that one in a castle.
But yes, the cluster of various styles definitely makes sense.
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I fully support the eclectic interior designs! I’m sort of picturing a Hogwarts-like situation where there seem to be far more rooms than what looks possible from the outside, with some of the more obscure ones possibly changing position…? There’s a decent chance of getting lost in the corridors but at least you’re guaranteed to stumble upon some cool rooms!
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Wander the halls as much as you like, the doors know where you should be.
Wander the halls as much as you can, for they have plenty for you to see.
Wander the halls as much as you wish, and you’ll soon bump into me.
Wander the halls for the whole of your life, and always you shall be free.
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So many rooms but omg the spells!
Picture if you will…
You fancy a snack, but your current book is adictive, so reading as you walk you meander to the nearest kitchen. You walk into a kitchen, there is a breif flicker across the page and the weight in your hands vanishes.
You turn confused and see the book that you’re reading, that still appears to be open in your hand, is sat on a shelf just outside the kitchen door. You take a step towards the shelf and as you cross the threshold the weight returns to your hand and the book is no longer on the shelf.
You go back into the kitchen and spectral version of your book reappears, the pages still turn, it feels slolid it just has no weight, so you carry on reading as you hunt a snack.
A week or so later you’re trying a cake recipie from an ancient cook book.
You spoon out the mixture and fumble the spoon, you watch in horror as it falls towards the book, you grab the book out of the way just in time then drop it screaming becasue you have cake mix covered fingers and the book lands in the mixing bowl, still half full of cake batter!
At this point you walk away and clean your hands, theres no point making this worse. You fish the book out of the mix and you’re surprised to see the cake mix, slide off/through the book, the text as clear as when you first found it.
Your spectral book just survived a close encounter with cake, spectral… yes you turn and see the acutal book on that magical shelf just outside the kitchen door. All safe and sound and definatly not covered in cake. Thank Gods!
Note: Do NOT rely on this spell when returning to home, books and cakes do not agree with each other, especially old books!
Note 2nd: This spell appears to have been applied to any room where a book may be damaged by the activities occuring in the room. Labs, Kitchens, Bathrooms etc
Note 3rd: The castle knows! One room was changed from a mundane writting room to a lab, as soon as lab kit was brought in, a bookshelf appeared at the door and no physical book could be taken in.
Note 4th: This works on scrolls and papers too, the spectral versions act the same as their physical ones, but have no weight.
Note 5th: I took some blank paper into the kitchen to draw up some plans over a cuppa. Everything I drew on the spectral blank paper was transcribed to the physical papers on the shelf.
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The castle knows!
“Have you seen the library?
Sure it has an indexing system. Every book has it’s own index card, ordered alphabetically and grouped by subject all nice and neat, but have you seen the shelves themselves? Chaos!
Books seem to be placed wherever a gap could be found, and while there’s evidence that it used to be organised that is no longer the case. It seems every shelf has fallen prey to “the wrong disc in the box” syndrome.
And yet… every time I’ve needed a book the index system is always correct.
I found a cookbook for muffins sandwiched between “The Lexicon of Liturgy” and “The Big Boys Bumper Book Of Baleful Beasties”.
I remembered its location, and once read I returned it to the shelves, but this time I placed it between “The Muffin Man Diaries” and “Basil of Baker Street, 2029”.
I returned to the index system and searched for the cookbook’s card. The location was correct, the location had changed.
The castle knows.”
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It may be a fire hazard but the majority of the rooms totally need to have a cozy fireplace in them somewhere – need to warm up the drafty castle halls somehow, and itd be perfect for reading!
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The castle seems totaly fine with snuggling by the fires with a book.
Also fine with having a cuppa tea on your desk next to the book(spillage risk)** and with reading on the ramparts(risk of rain)…
**unless the desk is in one of the kitchens or labs
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Fun fact: An occupied castle is usually warm.
The stone doesn’t transfer heat well, so while it may take a long time to warm them up, once the heat is in the walls they retain it for a decent time.
A cosy, occupied castle could douse every fire when people went to bed and it would still be warm come dawn.
As a fair few of us would be up at all hours of the night, with lovely little fires just crackling away, it would be quite easy to maintain a very cosy atmosphere.
When it comes to fire hazards, you only need to worry if you’re reading, wrapped up in a blanket, on the actual hearth itself.
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Side tables; spindly or sturdy, intricate designs or plain, each a characteristic version of every member of Thornmouth past and present. Oh and they should have matching/paired seating; huge wing backs, comfortable sofas, beanbags etc…
@TheMadHare, did you ever find a spell to make those dust golems? They’d be pretty nifty in the now very large domain.
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@Strix, I may have found something for the dust golem situation. Although I imagine the moral quandary behind gifting inanimate objects magiqally crafted life could put a damper on my current project. I would like to call the spell ‘Life Breathing’ though, as I’m sure the act itself would seem quite self-explanatory once seen in practice. More details will follow if any kind fellow magiq users are keen towards the idea of having dust golems do most of the caretaking. Might be slightly off putting to have black air-like beings floating amongst the shelves and passages of the library.
Speaking of the library, here are a couple images I’ve set aside for just this situation:
I like organic structures that look like burrows
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There are really cool! I can definitely see them in the older parts of the castle/layered architecture mashup.
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I would be interested in seeing these dust consuming golems, but I have just one request regarding their form.
Can they please be rabbits?
Can we have Dust Bunnies?
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Undust Bunnies. So Wonderland.
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Undust Bunnies. Very good name. Agh the imagery is too good! Imagine pulling out a dusty book and whoosh! Suddenly a immaterial rabbit runs past/through the shelf, gathering the dust into its body as it goes!
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Man now I’m just thinking of cute little bunnies made of dust hopping around the library. Thumping a heavy dusty old tome down on the table and hundreds of dust bunnies running out from between its pages
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I’m obsessed with all of these. Was definitely a Thornmouth in another life
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I’m totally onboard for dust-bunny cleaners
and that castle @TheMadHare posted is pretty awesome, and I really like the idea of organic burrow-like structures under the castle.
We’re really pulling this thing together guys
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Ah, I always knew I would have dusty spectral bunny children!
I also realized partway through my posting that those structures may seem quite Balimoran, given how consumed by flora they are. Then again, I would love to see some Undust Bunnies running through those organic passageways. Are there rules when it comes to this whole guild-hall-appearance dealio?
(EDIT: For anyone interested in the castle itself that the grassy “Well of Initiation” is from, it’s a place in Portugal called ‘Quinta da Regaleira’ and it’s actual construction is amazing. I advise looking into it!)
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I think Ebbie has also talked about some of the Thorn lighthouse imagery, and Flint has talked about gardens that overlap with Bali. I feel like there’s lots of elements that kind of transcend guild, and especially with @Rimor’s idea of different sections reflecting different topics or areas of knowledge, any appearance can work as long as it fits with our interpretation and intentions!
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I do hope we have a grand hall for the times when we all wish to gather.
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Very nice. I’m sure that would be right at home in the castle.
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