Unicorn City?

[Muskrat]

Hmm. I don't think I quite like the idea of one of the city's founders being the one who imprisons the unicorn's soul, not because it's a bad idea, but because I had envisioned the city as being around at least a couple centuries before that happened. Time enough for to achieve an enduring reputation as a utopia. Also the idea that a thief is the one who pulls it off doesn't quite make sense. Unicorns obviously have immense magical power, so someone wielding great magical power of their own would need to do the imprisoning. I like the idea of the villain leading a group of marauders against the surrounding lands though.

Going with the whole fey idea, maybe the villain has harnessed the unicorn's power to move the city so it no longer sits wholly in the mundane world, but straddles the mundane world and Faerie. Many of his/her cohorts could be evil. Maybe the villain is someone kind of like Morgan le Fey from Arthurian legend--born mortal, but of such great magical power she has received acceptance among the fey as one of their own. Perhaps it's entrapping the unicorn that did the trick. Eanwulf, wasn't your evil fey queen named Morgana or something like that? Can we combine these two figures and make Unicorn City the center of her evil empire?

[Shurijo]

I kind of like that the city isn't part of the earth/world anymore. I'd like to keep Unicorn City something magical/mystical that commoners (and 1st level adventurers) know only stories about.

That way anyone building a mini-world as part of the setting can reference Unicorn City through lore, but the GM doesn't need to build it into their setting (since it might clash with his concepts of magic levels, races, or whatever).

[Eanwulf]

Queen Mab was her name, the daughter of Dark Titania and Lord Phynnod (Oberron's Unseelie counterpart). Think Bizarro vs Superman. Anyways, she used the Sluagh to invade the mortal realm through a great plague that caused their dreams to become muddled and tainted, thereby allowing them passage into the realm.

I could see Unicorn City as the launching ground of her forces into the mortal realms, much like the Fabled City of Brass was home to the Efrit. Power of teleportation and what not coming from the Unicorn.

[Muskrat]

Would you mind seeing Mab's history changed somewhat? Make her a mortal mage who used the power from the captured soul of the unicorn to stage a coup d'etat and seize control of the Unseelie Court? This might give any good guys opposing Mab some unlikely and unsavory allies--the old rulers of the Unseelie Court, who seek to regain their power and are willing to withdraw Mab's forces from the mortal world as part of a bargain. (And, being fey, they would be bound by any oath they give, whether they like it or not.)

I wasn't seeing Unicorn City as no longer inaccessible, at least in the physical sense. I was thinking you could enter it from the mortal world and, simply by walking through its streets to the center of the city, one would enter Faerie. No need to pass through interplanar gates or anything. Of course, not many people would choose to go there, because the mortal population is all enslaved and the city itself is guarded by the Wild Hunt.

Since unicorns are powerful fey creatures, it makes sense that imprisoning one's soul would give you some power over the fey.

[Eanwulf]

I was kind of set on how Queen Mab came to power and who she was as an immortal, but the possibility of a last bastion of hope/human society is there if you wish to choose it. Perhaps Unicorn City is where a legendary sidhe and unicorn fused themselves together in some crystalline form of a statue in order to protect their city from Queen Mab's magic. King Theodric of Voss could be the current ruler and Black Thom his bastard son (influenced and warped by unseelie fey) who is apparently trying to ursurp his father's claim to the kingdom. Enter the Shadow Hawks, former guard members now bent to Mab's will and imbued with unseelie gifts. This would reflect a mythic land and setting akin to King Arthur and Mordrid.

[Muskrat]

Hmm. I kind of like the twisted history we came up with Unicorn City. Maybe we can set it in another part of the world. Instead of there being simply the Seelie and Unseelie Court, there could be multiple fey courts, with different philosophies and attitudes towards mortals.

[Brennor]

I know that the discussions has already kind of revolved past this, but maybe "Unicorn City" could be one of the afterlife havens? You know... something like Valhalla or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets)

... and no, I'm sure sure why unicorn city reminded me of rainbow bridge...

[TetNak]

Anyone still working on this? I'm looking to perhaps run a Pathfinder game and need help building somethin..

[Muskrat]

I'm still interested, but this particular thread seems to have stalled out with no consensus and no one's posted anything other ideas. I have some ideas of my own, but I don't know when I'd get the time to post them. Easter Weekend maybe ... because both the schools I'm teaching at are Catholic, it's a four-day weekend for me.

[Eanwulf]

I think Unicorn City killed most conversation but much like Muskrat, I have my own ideas. Time to share them seems to be the problem.

By all means however, use this spot to start fishing for suggestions. Shurijo, Muskrat, and myself check it pretty regular. Others might join in too

That's kind of why I wanted it to begin with, i.e. draw outside thoughts and interests.