Locations · Fortification · Any
The Paul and Peter Fortress
It is massive and grey. It nearly blots out the sun as you approach. Soon it will be the last time you will see the horizon.
From the outside, the Paul and Peter Fortress is a massive grey castle that stretches into the clouds, and when the sun shines on it, then it gleams off the barred windows and steel gates.
Life inside is deeply dull. There are four people in each of the cells,who spend their time talking to each other, sleeping, and reading books from the prison library. It is likely that many famous robberies have been planned in the cells and carried out after the prisoners have been released.
They are let out for an hour of excersise a day in the prison courtyard, sometimes two hours in summer. By day and often long into the night, the chattering of the imnates can be heard.
Since many of the prisoners are serving long sentences, the guards mostly tend not to provoke them to avoid riots. However, if a prisoner does attack a guard, he is beaten with batons and then flogged, his screams heard through most of the prison. Escape is almost impossible. Should a prisoner escape, the sentences of the prisoners in the two closest cells to his are doubled.Should said prisoner be recaptured, he will soon be beaten by his fellow prisoners.
The higher up one's cell tier, the higher the prisoner stands in the underworld.The bottom teir holds the lowest of the low, sex offenders and informers, as well as those on Death Row. Should a major organized crime boss be convicted (very rare, but it happens) he is put in one of the tower cells.
The food is disgusting, everybody agrees on that.
A gallows stands in the courtyard in full view of many of the prisoners. Hangings are for murder and high treason in time of war,and not all murderers are in fact hanged.
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Plot Hook. You are a thief in the prison serving a short sentence for so…
Plot Hook. You are a thief in the prison serving a short sentence for some petty crime. You hear a rival guilds master was just imprisoned. You know there is a very large reward for killing him. Can you locate him, convince your fellow cell mates to cooperate, escape your cell, kill him (taking evidence to claim the reward), and get back to your cell without detection?
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- 30 Legendary Antidotes/Cures III Alongside Cheka Man linked by Cheka Man
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.Should a prisoner escape, the sentences of the prisoners in the two closest cells to his are doubled.
Wouldn't that lead to serious unrest among the inmates in the long term? I mean why provoke them by punishing them for a crime they are innocent of?
No, it would encourage prisoners to stop escape attempts. If you knew a guy next to you was going to try and escape, and that if he was successful, you would be in the Paul and Peter for another 40 years, you'd rat him out without a second thought.
Well, if the security is good enough (it was said there are very few successful escapes), it isn't that much of a problem. The motivation is clearly to make people betray each other... isn't there also a rule that hindering an escape halves your punishment?
Side note: if you are a prison warden, you don't exactly want the prisoners to be nice to each other... order yes, allied prisoners NO.
I like it... it is a little gloomy although I think it needs more description. Right now I think of it as just a big brick building. I actually thought of the empire statebuilding all done in brick when I read it.
I like that should one escape the others pay for it. It leads to trickery, subterfuge and the inmates telling on each other should something happen.
Be interesting to throw a PC into this place and see if they could get out with the help of other innmates. That may be a bit of a challange.
On a side note... the others in the cell could be the makings of the other party members. Gives an all go or no quit to the group. Learn to live together and work together or suffer. Nice start to an adventure. IMHO.
I've always wondered... I like the name Paul and Peter Fortress, very evocative and full of meaning for people who have kept a little bit up on their Euro-Christian culture, but if this is supposed to be in another world, where, presumably, Christianity does not exist, why would they call it the Paul and Peter Fortress?
It was from one of my imaginary worlds that mostly borrowed other stuff. It could be however that there were two great kings in this world well known for the justice of their rule, hence the name.
I think it is easy enough to consider the name more of a description then what it would be called 'in game' myself. Seems related to the Prisoner's Dilemma idea.
I like the concept of the neighboring prisoners being held responsible for a failed escape. I think with a prison of this size, there must be many large cities with many competing thief/assassin guilds/gangs and that that competition or cooperation would carry over into the prison. Also, with so many underworld 'guests' this place is virtually a library of criminal information. Set's up many possible scenarios.
I would like to see the name have some meaning too.