07-07-2021, 08:26 AM
Sorry I only noticed this post this morning, but super cool sleuthing! The Inn I think is way understudied.
The first rule I would say, is to favor the map over the text. The map in DA1 looks to be an exact redraw of Arneson's map of the Inn. You can see Arneson's version in clips from Paul Stormbergs video, IIRC. The text on the otherhand is a muddle of authors as TSR freely re-arranged and rewrote Arneson's mss.
I think it is the same set of doors. In other words the Main floor map shows the lower floor doors for orientation purposes. This single set of double doors is the only pedestrian entrance on to the stable/barn. The hayloft doors are not shown. I'll explain below.
The art is really only something a TSR artist drew from some basic description they were given and they very likely gave it less thought than you have here. Just ignore it.
Hayloft doors are centered in a gable end of the loft of a barn. The Comeback Inn's hayloft doors are not shown on the map. Typically, an arm with a pulley extends out away from the building often from the peak of the gable above the hayloft door. The rope and pulley are used to pull up bundles or bales of hay and someone in the loft will grab then from the pulley and toss them into the loft. Not being mentioned in the text is a small oversight. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/hayloft-door.html
The doors (hayloft, stable, and main) are where they are because they are facing the town square.
Per your elevation remarks, the stable and cellar of the Inn appear to be sunken some 10 feet below ground with a 20 fi ceiling. This would place the hayloft 10 feet above ground. The main floor of the Inn would also be 10 feet above ground if the rest of the cellar is the same height as the stable. That seems a bit high but the map does show steps leading up to the porch for the front door.
It is also possible, maybe probable, the Inn is set into a slope to the north. If you look at the original town map http://blackmoormystara.blogspot.com/201...neson.html (Not the upside down Bledsaw travesty) You see the Inn is just south of the peninsula and it is entirely possiple the ground slopes here. So the back (north) end of the hayloft may only be 3 or 4 feet above the ground.
The chimeneys are inside the building. Fireplaces in historic buildings are constructed inside the building because the heat from the fire will warm up the entire chimney which will then radiate heat into a room. In fact Inn's could charge more for a room with a chimney in it as a "heated" room even though there is no fireplace.
Xylarthen Wrote:While redrawing the Comeback Inn maps for my own campaign use, I came across some strangeness with the maps in DA1 compared to their room descriptions. Here are some inconsistencies I found:
- the Hayloft (room 28 on the Main Level) is shown to be 40’ by 80’ on the map, but the description states “this 60-foot by 80-foot hayloft...”. Possible typo? That’s what I am assuming.
The first rule I would say, is to favor the map over the text. The map in DA1 looks to be an exact redraw of Arneson's map of the Inn. You can see Arneson's version in clips from Paul Stormbergs video, IIRC. The text on the otherhand is a muddle of authors as TSR freely re-arranged and rewrote Arneson's mss.
Xylarthen Wrote:- again with the Hayloft, the map shows double doors on the southern wall on the Main Floor, and double doors in the same spatial position on the Lower Level. It can be inferred that the Lower Level doors are actually at ground level, because just beyond the doors is a 15’ long ramp that descends 10’ below ground, as stated in the lower level description (room 1). So, if the Main Level map has doors in this same position, are they the same doors as those of the Lower Level? If so, does that mean the same doors access the ramp down to the lower level AS WELL AS the hayloft? I don’t think so.
I think it is the same set of doors. In other words the Main floor map shows the lower floor doors for orientation purposes. This single set of double doors is the only pedestrian entrance on to the stable/barn. The hayloft doors are not shown. I'll explain below.
Xylarthen Wrote:- finally, while trying to do a side view/elevation diagram of the Inn, I was finding that the lower level, with its 20 foot high ceilings as per the text description, was causing that level to overlap 10 feet into the main level.
I looked at the two art pieces depicting the Inn found in this module; one on page 11, and the other on the fold-out cover. I was hoping they’d provide some clarity.
The rendition on page 11 was no help - it really looks nothing like the Inn as depicted in the maps or as described in the descriptions. Assuming the view is as if looking at it from the southwestern corner (based on the stable doors being visible straight ahead), there are many obvious errors - windows in the stables where there are none in the corresponding map, improper dimensions (stable should be longer than it is wide; this depiction makes it wider than it is long), a massive cobblestone hearth chimney that is not shown in the maps, the stable being ahead of the Inn’s main building rather than being recessed to the main building’s northwest corner, the front porch being on the Inn’s eastern side instead of the western side, no third floor tower room (room 52), etc. Speaking of hearth chimney... I have another point to make about that, but I’ll get to it later.
Thankfully, the “Blackmoor Hostel” art piece in the foldout cover did help. It has a view of the Inn as if looking at it from the south side. It shows the stable’s doors being in a sunken area of ground, about 1 floor (maybe 10 feet) below the main floor. This makes sense; the doors are supposed to open onto a ramp that descends 10 feet below ground (in this case, “ground level” is the ground level at the stable door entrance, not the ground level relative to the rest of the building). The ceiling height of the stables, and all other areas of the lower level except room 8, are 20 feet as per the module text. So this would put all of the lower level areas below the main level, rather than overlapping it partially as was happening when I was trying to keep the stable doors on the same elevation as the main Inn entrance.
So with the elevation issue solved, we still have the issue of those doors going to the hayloft. The Blackmoor Hostel diagram on the fold-out cover shows... something... above the stable double doors, but is it another set of doors? Looks more like a window to me, a very large one, but not doors.
The description of the hayloft (room 28) has this to say: “A barred double door opens onto the yard outside the inn. Jumping or climbing from this door leaves one in a pile of loose hay in the loft’s northeast corner.” Huh? So, jumping out of the southern doors to the yard outside will land me... back inside the hayloft (as expected, due to the magical properties of the Inn) in the northeast corner (not expected, as the doors are in the southwest corner).
Thinking about this rationally, I can’t see there being doors to the hayloft on the south side above the stable doors. First of all, how would you stock it for its designed purpose (storing hay), being at least 10 feet off the ground (and 20 feet off the floor of the stable)? Would you carry the hay up the ladder inside? No. Use a winch or block and tackle? That’s commonly how it’s done, but there’s no mention of any such apparatus here.
To me, the most logical explanation is that the doors are not on the front (south) side, but rather the back (north) side, and the ground at the back of the stable doesn’t dip down 10 feet at the stable like it does on the front side, thereby putting those doors in a useful position - at ground level. This also means that when someone tries to leave the inn by means of these doors in the north, they wind up back inside in the northeast - totally in line with how the “Come Back In” magic is supposed to work.
The art is really only something a TSR artist drew from some basic description they were given and they very likely gave it less thought than you have here. Just ignore it.
Hayloft doors are centered in a gable end of the loft of a barn. The Comeback Inn's hayloft doors are not shown on the map. Typically, an arm with a pulley extends out away from the building often from the peak of the gable above the hayloft door. The rope and pulley are used to pull up bundles or bales of hay and someone in the loft will grab then from the pulley and toss them into the loft. Not being mentioned in the text is a small oversight. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/hayloft-door.html
The doors (hayloft, stable, and main) are where they are because they are facing the town square.
Per your elevation remarks, the stable and cellar of the Inn appear to be sunken some 10 feet below ground with a 20 fi ceiling. This would place the hayloft 10 feet above ground. The main floor of the Inn would also be 10 feet above ground if the rest of the cellar is the same height as the stable. That seems a bit high but the map does show steps leading up to the porch for the front door.
It is also possible, maybe probable, the Inn is set into a slope to the north. If you look at the original town map http://blackmoormystara.blogspot.com/201...neson.html (Not the upside down Bledsaw travesty) You see the Inn is just south of the peninsula and it is entirely possiple the ground slopes here. So the back (north) end of the hayloft may only be 3 or 4 feet above the ground.
Xylarthen Wrote:Last thing (and sorry for the long post!), I mentioned a chimney is shown on the page 11 diagram, but not in the maps (nor the Blackmoor Hostel diagram, as it so happens). Now, this establishment has a forge and a ridiculous number of fireplaces and stoves, yet no chimneys on the maps? How are all of these venting? The fireplaces in the common room are all between windows, meaning they can’t share a common chimney. And I count 18 fireplaces and stoves that are not bordering an exterior wall, where chimneys would normally be constructed. Are these all magical in nature, designed not to smoke? If so, it is not stated. If anybody has any ideas about handling this, or if they have spotted any other inconsistencies or have explanations on interpreting what may seem to be such, please chime in!
Xylarthen
The chimeneys are inside the building. Fireplaces in historic buildings are constructed inside the building because the heat from the fire will warm up the entire chimney which will then radiate heat into a room. In fact Inn's could charge more for a room with a chimney in it as a "heated" room even though there is no fireplace.