This is a short story featuring my town, pls read on :)
Who am I , Ezomyte, Eternal or Oriathan?, I no longer know. Bleed, get healed only to bleed again, that’s what i remember, that’s what I do.
I remember the day that i first set foot here, a lonely man on a half rotten barge, I was drained, exhausted, hungry but most of all angry.
More dead than alive, a kind man gave me food and water only to die himself two days later. From there on I begged for bread at the market, lowest of the low.
Desperate I sought work from Catarina but all she want is to boil me alive and put me in her cage
then i tried stealing,
Vorici taught me the life of a criminal. For a while I was successful but eventually I got caught and thrown into prison
this is where I saw Vagan.
I don’t know his backstory or why he was in prison (may be something to do with ear bending or his pride) but I watched him and I learned to fight. "Fighting isn’t all about how to hit your enemy, it’s more about how to avoid being hit yourself" i remember those words, so i watched Vagan and learned how to avoid his skills, and practiced
The dreadful day approached, the day we die, the day of the grand arena, we were sent to the arena to fight to death. You know what I’m good at? I’m good at not dying, I used all my prison buddies as meat shields until only two remains, me and Vagan. He's exhausted, the weight of all those swords pulling him down and I’m full of energy, he's good at hitting but I'm good at not getting hit especially by Vagan.
We fought for an eternity , I ran round and round and he chased me (that dude got some stamina) I ran so fast it felt like my legs caught fire, every dash another flame,I became a dashing Flame, Vagan chased me but couldn’t tolerate the heat, and finally he put his sword in the ground, and with his head bent he said "I've never seen such skill, so I never prepared against it, my eyes are open I'm awake (PATH OF EXILE 2.0 : THE AWAKENING) but feel as if I’m dreaming.
“I SURRENDER”
with this the battle has ended, everyone is half asleep in their seats but the queen Zana is amazed and married me the next day, her umptieth marriage.
That’s how a beggar, a theif and a fighter became king, They say Daresso is king of the arena but he didn’t meet me yet.
Special thanks to my friends :
Jernsaxe,
Geisalt,
DrakSenf,
Skyion,
Sie_Sayoka
Theme is loosely based on Catholic purgatory, but incorporates the Spanish train bringing the bodies/souls to purgatory as well as the river styx. There is an elevator to hell (map device), statues of false gods forever burning (Honestly don't know why they are all female) and more.
I have used decorations to the limit without limiting the area and making use of the decorations to draw attention to height and lighting effects.
As a matter of fact I have used ONLY free decorations to prove that a beautiful Hideout is possible without "pay to win"! (And I'm broke as hell)
Enter through a pretty glittering cross with a river in sight and churchbells in the backround...how bad can it be?!
River styx with wind blowing, seems like a lonely place to wait. (Hope you brought some silver!)
Statues of false gods with Catarina glow in backround, maybe she knows/waits for Phlegyas. (Burn the witch!)
Intersection of three areas (road to Catarina incl) used as a graveyard. (Because walking over graves all day is what we DO!) - Catarina crafting Stones found here incidentally.
Closeup of Spanish train / Ghost train with low tech braking / suspension solution. (Those bodies didn't make the cut or were leftovers I suppose.)
That cart was premarked for hell, don't worry, no elevator/judgement required.
Say hi to the camera boys, you're going down...
Vorici set up his shop next to the elevator powersource. (Don't follow these souls to hell unprepared!)
I love the overall darkish theme of Path Of Exile, so I wanted my hideout to fit in well. The hideout is a steam powered grim and gritty basement where bad things happen.
It has a big torture room and a jail, mysterious steam powered machines, pipes, steam powered map device, the air is dense and you can smell the fear of everybody who ever stepped inside it's walls.
Above this horrifying place is a tavern called The Siren which is located in the City of Sarn docks. Drunken songs sang by Sarn sailors, misfits and criminals and everyday fights help to cover up the screaming and moaning of tortured victims.
There is a rumour that the creator of this steam powered basement was a member of Vaal engineers who built The Ancient Pyramid and Vaal Oversoul!
1. Information desk in the middle, luggage storage and departure lounge:
2. An arrival information board on the left side, on right - check-in desk and a bank in one (These guys have a very slow PCs (possibly on diesel), as my :):
3. Exit to the city and backyard:
4. Platform:
5. Diesel baggage loader:
6. Train ("i've got one foot on the platform"):
7. Exit to the platform and............ restroom (bottom right) ! :)
PS. I have a very-very slow PC so i cant take good quality screenshots, so if u want to see my HO not on minimum settings pm me in game.
I started to work on this hideout early after Forsaken Masters release. It's nothing fancy, I know, but I was afraid that if I make another one on Standard, I'll lose this one by mistake. I wanted to spend my virtual time in a pleasant place, not something full of corpses and gore, so I took Tora's hideout and bought some trees. Then I realized lvl 7 Tora's hideout is too small for my needs and changed my concept to dark gardens, located around a mysterious building (preferably palace). I already had half of the hideout decorated when the contest started and it costed me too much work to just remove it, so I decided to stay with my "gardens". I wanted to make a whole story, but nothing came to my mind, either I don't know the PoE lore well enough (YET) to write a story based on it (I am not fluent in English enough to understand whole vendor/lore dialogues without translating, unfortunately).
1.View from the waypoint after entering hideout. I dislike the awful Solaris dirty floor so decided to cover it with the tomb floor. The terrace is very simple but that's what it meant to be.
2.In the shadow of arc leading to the path, which connects two remaining terraces.
3.Stairs at the Upper Terrace
4.Upper Terrace. You can see one of many Palace's backdoors between the plants.
5.Stairs between terraces
6.Lower Terrace. Tools for work with smelly and dirty things which can't be done in the Palace.
7.Lower Terrace. Fragment of the path around corrupted water. You could think it's similar to the sheets cannibals use, but no! That's real stone! The red liquid is, obviously, the corrupter water, not the blood like you could think.
*I don't know the proper word in English, I guess it's something between 'terraces' and 'terrace gardens' ;>
Story: people started cutting roads through the forests, and my hideout is an idea of how that could look like :) it resembles a mountain area that was cut through in order to create a road, but people have noticed the cuteness of the area and made a little place where they could rest and enjoy some sun! you can see the oldtimer cars, tunnels, and a little improvised beach. all benches are incorporated in the cars, including the map device. if anyone wants to see it firsthand, pm me ingame or check the link to the original thread here:
here we enter the hideout through the tunnel on the south, passing by you can see a vehicle carrying some kind of supplies. this vehicle, as most others, are created mainly by combining extraction devices, spindles and boxes. the thick trees on the left accent the forest that has been cut through, while the ones on the right give the impression that you are near the forest's edge, and are also used for shadowing of the area on the left because of the sun position.
we pass by what appears to be a fork in the road, with main road continuing to the left, and a little tiled road to the right, which leads to a parking spot where people park the cars in order to enjoy the landscape. waypoint has been made using vorici's pipe (no pun intended) and vegan's stone pieces.
proceeding through a little tunnel inside the hideout, we get to the other main tunnel that leads to the outside of the hideout again. we see some guy having troubles with his car, because catarina hasn't built the road completely yet. again the crafting benches have been carefully incorporated into the cars.
another path from the road, this time leading to a little clearing in the forest that people started to use as a beach!
having parked their cars, people decided to catch some sunlight on this improvised beach
a clearing in the forest has been used to create a well with fresh water. this was made using a well from catarina and water bucket from vorici
here we see the parking lot, one of the main themes of the hideout. the crafting benches have been used not only as parts of the cars, but in some cases even as main themes of the cars, like the middle car with haku's bench. the big car carrying the wagon has a special function, which we will see shortly!
so the wagon car is the map device! here we can see the parking lot better, with leo reading some manual but still being unable to fix his car. in this area there are two little benches where people can sit and rest.
well that was it guys, hope you liked it, and well, pm me if you wanna see more ofc!
Submission Theme: Life and Death theme to match that of Wraeclast
You rapidly exit a giant Vaal pyramid as something seems to gone wrong while teleporting to Sarn. Barely grasping your surroundings, you stand up from the waypoint and stumble out of this giant structure. You find yourself surrounded by trees and vegetation...in an underground chamber:
As you wander along the forest trail you come across the watcher of the forest, who bids you welcome and encourages you to bless yourself at the well to protect yourself from what lies ahead:
Upon bathing yourself in the holy waters of the blessing font, you journey farther down the path. You now reach the shepherdess of the dead and she grants you the ability to stare into the well to see what destiny awaits you:
You finally come to the end of the trail and find yourself at the doorway of an ancient structure. Upon further investigation you are convinced that this is an ancient thaumaturgical lab due to the foul smell in the air:
You see a light to your nearest right an investigate further. A great cartographer remains at her desk vigorously scribbling notes while surrounded by map, alter, and book:
The shimmering red air around you makes you want to investigate further. As you wander down the stairs surrounded by the charcoal black walls you finally reach the bottom of the stairs where you find a great gladiator reading the last rite's to multiple prisoners:
You traverse the final amount of corridor and enter a room where the stench immediately offends your nostrils. Looking around you are stunned at the amount of lab tables with prisoners mounted on them. A master torturer stands nearby a generator and several electrical shocking devices. Off to your right a pile of rotting corpses remains from the experimentation in this room. In the center of the room you behold why all the sacrifices are being conducted. A red glow indicates that the device is powered on and enables opening of portals to other worlds:
Clarity of the situation hits you as you realize that Malachai has used the expertise of the cartographer to open portals to other worlds using the life force of the prisons being held in the earlier part of the lab. Using an empty chest nearby you decide to escape through the portal device by placing in a location known to you...
The Banquet Hall
Enlightened Hideout - Standard League
In the scarred, afflicted land of Wraeclast, seldom can one find an opportunity such as fine dining. Yet, even in a land of misfortune, there are those who live in luxury. And for the few that live in luxury, there are many ways for them to indulge in pleasure. The Banquet Hall is one of these ways.
Entrance
Upon entrance, one can find themselves surrounded by elegance. A sea of red, gold and white creates a warm feeling of comfort. Red carpets full of texture and grace cover the hideout.
The Bar
Behind the bar, Leo can be found working as a Bartender. Here, individuals can help themselves to an exquisite drink.
The Fireplace
Nothing feels warmer than a cozy fireplace.
The Dining Area
The area for fine dining. Those of luxury travel the land to enjoy a delectable meal, here in the Banquet Hall.
The Extension
This room leads to two more rooms.
The VIP Room
A room for the richest of the rich. Only those who seek the best experience they can have come here - at a price.
The Lounge Room
After a delicious meal, what better task to do than relax? The comfort of this room is valued so highly that many individuals, including the rich, the exiled, and even Masters, travel here to let loose.
The Ball Room
Last but definitely not least, The Ball Room. This room completes the Banquet Hall. Here, one can delicately waltz with their partner, show off their ballet skills, or do the ol' tango.
Additional Comments
Man, do I love the Pillars and Flag 4 decoration. It's the perfect combination of red, white, and gold, matching the theme and colour scheme of the hideout. The one downside to the decoration is the hollow interior. In my hideout, I chose to use the White Catacomb 6 decoration to fill up this hollow, ensuring my hideout did not have areas of empty space. Many other decorations, such as pillars and plants, are used to cover up undesirable areas of the hideout, such as the piles of books on the floor. On the other hand, some decorations, such as crafting benches, are very complimentary to the hideout. Elreon's Blessing Font adds a nice touch to the ball room, Vorici's Artisan's Bench simulates firewood to fuel the fireplace, and Zana's Map Device spices up the Lounge Room. The other crafting benches are conveniently hidden in fitting areas. Overall, decorations are not only used to decorate the hideout, but to add and subtract aspects of the hideout to make it look a lot more appealing.
As you enter you come to see the destruction Catarina has brought to the helpless souls while she is still trying to figure out how to fish using her slaves to figure something out.
As Tora and Vegan are off in there secrete home out in the middle of fields they have everything the need to keep there relationship a hidden one. while they have slaves do are there work to keep the place tidy.
As all this is going on you have a women and her baby trying to her husband after he lost his fight with Malachai, The Nightmare
After exploring the hide out you come to find the map device that will take you to worlds you've never been guarded by Zana.
This hideout shows a darker side to the forsaken masters. After searching for years Zana finally found the lost laboratory of the Archbishop Lazhwar. This was the place where he created the very first map device which would later inspire Malachai's Eternal Laboratory.
Consumed by greed Elrion, Haku, Catarina and Zana took over the ruins and brought in slaves to harvest the worlds created by Lazhwar before he was burned at the stake.
Connecting the original map device to a train track they are now able to empty the hidden worlds and hoard amazing amounts of wealth.
I came up with the concept for the hideout because I bought the "Steampowered portal" MTX and wanted to make use of it in a hideout. Unfortunatly there isn't too many mechanical decorations so I originally wanted to make it in Elrions hideout since it is smaller, but the lighting effect from "cauldron" bugs a lot in that hideout so I swapped to Zana and had to make it bigger. That's when I thought of the loottrain and I build like crazy from there.
The hideout is build around using a 50% zoom level to see the details and better seperate the many coloured lights.
I hope you enjoy :)
Lazhwwar worked for years perfecting his map device. Lacking his genious the masters now use the souls of their slaves to power it:
An abandoned watchtower, burned to the ground when the inquisition caught Lazhwar. Leo stands guard over it as every night haunted cries from the top of the tower scares the slaves:
Even slaves need to relax, making the best of a bad situation they build this cozy little village:
Consumed by greed the masters build a traintrack and forced their slaves to push around whole carts of loot. Zana keeps a close watch to make sure nothing is stolen. The north wall I call the Grinding Gears Wall:
Everything is powered by this machine, if you thought the rapture device was powerful you are in for a surprise:
A strange device of Vaal origin flanks the stairs to the lower levels:
Elrion might not crave gold, but when it comes to knowledge noone is greedier then him. Every book is gathered by slaves and it is never enough:
Whenever a slave dies from the brutal work they are taken to Catarina. Here she works on new ways to enhance the map devices power:
Haku stares into the fire, what he sees noone knows. He uses the ores and gems found in the maps to forge weapons of terrible power:
A strange smell and horrible noises emanates from the sewer entrance. Even though the gate is securely locked the masters make sure to throw a slave or two a week down there to placate whatever dwells inside:
I made the mistake of inviting Chris by my hideout and now he wont leave!
The Mad King's Lair
Standard League
Elreon's Hideout
I am going to give imgur address because I don't know how to edit image sizes and did the best I could so I also used spoilers to hide images, SORRY GGG!!! tried to put images in post, but I think it ate up too much space and I couldn't get all the details about theme into the post. http://imgur.com/a/GCvBx
Thematic Description
We have all been using map devices long enough, but have we ever considered anything slipping back into our hideout with us? When I started making my hideout I always imagined that I, The Mad King, was what managed to slip through some poor exiles map portal. They came into my territory and I walked back through the portal with my party...
Upon Entering the Hideout via Waypoint
The waypoint upon my party entering was smashed with a catapult ball, and has since been fixed. The pillars above the commemorated ball shapes a crown so all know who the king is. One of my party members Vagan is now running a shop to keep our blades sharp and our adventures profitable.
Throne Room
I have plundered many areas with my newly acquired map device. A lavish throne to relax at the end of the day and a mixture of gold and corpses to wrinkle between my toes.... hah hah hah. Zana stands with a list of areas charted out for the next expedition
Map Device Area
The Ancient structure that their warriors didn't truly understand. Overgrown but still functioning, the scrolls give off a black haze of corruption. Daily Zana uses another corrupted scroll so that we may conquer new areas.
Museum
A place for some of my more intriguing curiosities found in areas of far off reaches. Elreon supplies information and keep the museum intact. I enjoy listening to the screams of the adjoining prison bounce of the beautiful marble flooring as I relax on the cozy couch.
Playtime with Pets
I really don't understand why they aren't having a better time. I mean these few exiles have beauty to look out at, and to top it off they get to play with my pets! I don't have time to look after my eight legged blood sucking friends, but I am thankful these exiles do... hah hah hah
Wall of Screams
Yes at one time this small group of exiles had their own group of warriors. They now hang as a constant reminder on the wall leading to the Secret Garden Dining room that one should never play trash builds when up against a Mad King. I am thankful that their lack of knowledge has surrendered a new lair however.
Secret Garden Dining Area
I do enjoy eating in such beauty. These women have figured out the only one to truly worship is me and my achievements. The Area feels secret and shut off from the world, but even more secret is our food source hidden behind bars in this room... Some call it cannibalism, we just call it survival of the fittest. AhHAahAHAH
Afterword
I hope you all enjoyed my not so beautiful tale of a mapping experience gone wrong. If anyone wants to stop by or ask a question please feel free to send me a message in game.
Write a brief explanation about any clever decorating tricks you've used and how your decorations display your theme.
Throughout the hideout I have re-skinned the tile set that comes with standard Elreon hideout and also tried to use pillars, overgrown walls, web trees, and lush treesto cover up all the library columns and book shelves. Waypoint Area - Used Pillars to form a crown and skinned floor with stone to help match with crown. Used a tent to make Vagan appear like he has a shop, but also fit most crafting benches near entrance as décor for his shop. The different types of particle effects from catapult ball, waypoint, and fog give a pink glowing hue. Throne Room- Gold covers the floor, but within the gold lay corpses. I have the guild stash and stash tab located in a larger more grand chest, the stash is functional and useable. I used Pillars and flags from Zana to give the throne room a rich environmental feeling. They Pray Put the headstones beside the women, jutting out close from the wall. The blessing font is hidden partially in the statue and covered by bushes to make the plate appear as those it is holy. This is a place of worship, the only small area that those of faith in this hideout have left. Map Device Area- Using webbing, web trees, and path floor I wanted the room to feel aged and hardly used. The map device is a huge machine with gears, pipes, and projection devices. Instead of trying to hide the marble busts I put an arc around them, placed an alter in front of them, and a fire pit lights the area without showing fire because it is in the altar. Makes the scrolls look like they are giving off a black corruption. Museum The back drop looks like a dank crypt wall, but the marble flooring effect and golden gate give a nice pop effect. Playtime with Pets- Both far ends have an exile wriggling in webbing if you get in and look close enough. the south end houses an exile partially under rubble with a white webbed mass on top of him giving the effect of his insides being eaten. The atmosphere is meant to feel as though a spider could come down the tree and grab any of them up. Wall of Screams- Looks the same as rest of my wall, but I housed corpses from Haku in the wall. These guys represent the mapping party that came to my land. Secret Garden- Somewhere to display Torment/Bloodlines league trophy, 7/8 was a huge accomplishment for me. Hid walls with trees, and glowing firefly sparkles illuminate room nicely. I also placed a lit candle in table. The jail in top right isn't suppose to be immediately noticeable as the eye should go to trophy first, it is an after effect. Beauty streaked with horror.
Special Thanks
-Thanks to MzVelvet for helping with some color theory and thematic ideas. I really appreciate the second set of peepers coming in and analyzing before submission.
-Thanks to Atratzu for helping me amass the rep needed to decorate this hideout and putting up with my PoE addiction.
-Thanks GGG for the ultimate ARPG experience. The fact we can have a hideout competition is a testimony to your game.
Thanks to everyone who participated! We were really impressed with your creations and can't wait to showcase more of them in future.
Hm I didn't submit mine because after they did the mid-way post, I thought I had no chance, but actually I might have gotten a place in the honorable mentions. However I'm not that disappointed, as 100 points isn't that special...
I am a shadow. I was born the youngest daughter of a respected family, raised to fight, weep and bleed for God and the Order. I would have died to keep my mouth shut. Professional integrity, it's called. That lord sang a different tune once I had taken their children.
Last edited by jugglereli on Sep 30, 2015, 11:53:43 PM
