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Large city source book with guilds, activities, mini adventures,
society guides, and even an Arena Battle System. Oh, and of course
TONS of ready made NPC's with rich background.
Enjoy some samples... SynopsisThe name of our wondrous city is Neo-Tanadil (slang: Neodil). Tanadil is located in the Duchy of Neisor, in the fork of the rivers Shio and Edor. Check the maps for more geographic specifics if needed. The weather is seasonal but mild.The people of Tanadil are quite varied. Being at the fork of a river, it brings many people from many lands, mostly from upriver, to the north. The active trading city that it is, the docks and town gates are very active. The population is mostly comprised of humans in this section of the country, but other peoples have settled here, and many others travel through frequently. The Grothen, of course, are present, mostly residing in the Docks East and West section of town, near their ships. A few families of Tarels live on the outskirts of the city, many more living farther out on multi-family farms. Wilves just aren't seen much; few or none stay in town, and the rare one or two people have seen are just visiting for supplies. Chaeten, Churgs and other such creatures are obviously never seen (at least alive) in the town. Architecture: Neo-Tanadil is actually rebuilt on Old Tanadil, a great sprawling city of marble and brass, libraries and mansions. Old Tanadil was mostly destroyed from the Coming of Grenu-Bhoren in the Second Age of War. Few buildings remained intact, those being small marble structures. Most of the buildings of today's Tanadil were built on the foundations of other dwellings of the Old City, and are quite sturdy. This technique of "patched" architecture is especially true, and can be easily seen in the Keep and Bazaar areas of town. The old Tanadil ruins were razed completely in other parts of town, excluding the outskirts, which were left, perhaps as a ruinous monument to the Old City. The Outskirts are a mysterious and tragic place, oft visited by children and young lovers in the daytime, and avoided at night. The Keep area of town is comprised greatly of just that, a huge Keep. In the Keep resides Duke Neisor, his family and companions, a small militia, and other peoples and families related to the government. In times of siege (a time not yet seen by New Tanadil), the people of the city retreat into the huge courtyard of the Keep and it's great gates are closed. The entire Keep and courtyard are surrounded by a ten to twelve foot wall, made of stone. Narrow walkways are all around behind the wall. The "Keep area" of town also includes the houses of the wealthy that are located nearest to the Keep itself. The quality of housing slowly degrades as one ventures to the Docks and Bazaar areas. Living in the Keep is a quiet, relaxed life, full of manners and social intricacies. The Docks East and West is comprised of: a large amount of docks along the bank of the river, shanties and numerous other small abodes, and a large amount of taverns and alehouses. The whole area is profusely populated with Grothen, some settled, most looking for entry into the crew of any outgoing vessel, and a very few captains of their own ships. The humans in this area are few, most letting the Grothen do their own favorite trade. The life of a Docks resident is interesting, full of tales from sailors who have been all around the continent and coast, and travelers from unfamiliar lands. The Bazaar is made up of every kind of merchant imaginable, all advertising at the top of their lungs. The Bazaar is a beehive of activity from dawn until late afternoon, when the merchants close up shop, or cart, as the case may be. The houses here are primarily shop/living area places the merchants own, the shop being in front, and the living quarters either behind or upstairs. The merchants keep a closed community and stick together for protection. The life of a merchant in the Bazaar wanes with his product and the whims of the buyers. The city and surrounding lands are governed by Duke Neisor. In reality, the Duke doesn't run much of the city; his council of nine advisors run the city itself. The Duke is really a figurehead for the council, it's existence not being known to the people. The Duke is aware of his real power, which is little, but it is to his liking, doing little work and being held in respect, and some fear, by his Duchy's people. The council members themselves have yet to be described or their positions fleshed out. These specifics will be done when needed. The law of the land is going to be kind of vague, in that we don't feel it necessary to write forty pages of formal laws. Basically, stealing, murdering, property damage, etc., are what we're going to be concerned with. Crime and punishment are dealt by the Duke's cronies, and, in major disputes or crimes against the governing blood, the Duke will often deal sentences personally. There are several "police" type bodies, which are: the Keep Guard, the Watch, and the Militia. The Keep Guard are involved primarily with intruders and other Keep related affairs. The Watch are like a police force in the town proper. The Militia is for major defense of the city type things, consisting of almost all male inhabitants over sixteen years. A small Militia is kept at hand at all times, of about twenty rotated members. For much more detailed explaination of the laws and justice in Neo-Tanadil, refer to the JUSTICE.ZIP file. One more word about punishments. They usually fit the crime, say, for stealing, one loses one's hand. The death penalty is very popular, as well as enslavement. Slavery is legal, by the way, in this part of Brennan, but in Tanadil you don't see too many slaves. It's just not popular here. Taxes and Tariffs, on the other hand, are very popular (at least to the Duke and company). Currently, there is a 10% living tax. If you live somewhere, the tax collectors come around, evaluate your assets, and take a tenth of it. Cheating the collectors is generally frowned upon, usually by the Headsman, frowning at you while he lifts his axe. Tariffs vary widely depending on the goods and who is collecting them. There is also a "toll" fee for entering the city. If you don't have a pass to enter, you pay. When leaving the city, inhabitants are given this pass, and give it back upon reentering. The whole tax thing is taken care of by the Tax Chancellor and the Keep Guard. Several "Guild" (though we dislike that word) type deals exist within the city (see below). The main ones being The dock workers (including sailors), quite a few different merchant organizations (textiles, food marketers, et al), the Magus Collegium, and an underground Slaver's Guild. The sailor's guild doesn't do much, they meet once in awhile and drink, and will work together to keep out undesirables, etc. The many different merchant guilds are separate, but cooperate as a whole, for protection and such. The Magus Collegium (their HQ, actually) keeps to itself, totally. They aren't very popular here and are generally ignored. The Slaver's Guild is also overlooked, but frowned on, by the populous. Once in awhile they'll shanghai someone, but don't ever work in the open, unless just traveling through with "merchandise." The diversity of the various races can be roughly shoved into the following figures: Man 70%, 20% Grothen, 5% Tarel, 5% Wilf. This correlates to their numbers in the city's population as well as the immediate area. Light discrimination abounds, slurs here and there, but no house-burning or anything like that goes on. The Wilves _aren't_ discriminated in the open, having good relations with everyone for various reasons. Religion exists, but is not a dominating force in the city. Small chapels and altars here and there, but no sprawling temple-mansions or that sort of thing. Roughly, there is a pantheon of sorts of the major Gods, and a bunch of lesser Gods, and dozens of minor ones. The specifics and names are in consideration as of now. As a whole, religion in the city holds no power (that can change), but people find no harm in dropping a penny or piece of fruit on an altar now and then. A few words about the community now.. Almost all of the Keep and Merchant peoples are married, about half of the poorer working slime peoples are married, and just a small percentile of the dock inhabitants are hitched. Everyone in the city tends to be a bit wary of each other, and distrustful of strangers. Education is generally done in-family, but among the richer folk, children are sent to sages for schooling. Generally people know the events of the most recent age (also a few folktale), and sketchy geography ("Where is Great Yahn?" "Far north."). Communication is done through messengers, or more commonly, word of mouth. There are also pillars throughout the city, that are used for leaving messages as well as advertising. Transportation is done with Mr Foot, and sometimes with (rare) horse-driven carriages or (more common) two seated carts pulled by some unfortunate hack. Horses are uncommon in the city proper, but are around in the Outskirts and farms outside the city. oh, a note about names of NPCs: don't try to make up a Brennan-sounding name; there will soon be a file full of a few hundred. Draw from it. Current technology: the newest weapon is a composite bow, or a double curved bow. If you know anything about weapon histories, we're a bit before crossbows. Plate armor is unheard of; chain is rare. This might seem vague, so before you put anything in that seems borderline tech level or out of place to you, ask. Ultrea (the easter region of Brennan) is more apt to have items of higher technology, as they shun magic. It is common place for expensive imports from Ultrea to be sold at auctions and the like. Council Member: Nerita PelorontaNerita is a wealthy and fashionable woman of middle years. She comes from a family of rather more wealth than status; her father prospered in the gray market of "debt brokering," or selling the contracts of indentured servants for a cut of the profit. [I keep meaning to post about my conception of slavery and indentured servitude briefly, I envision indentured servants as people working off debts through unpaid labor.] He was also involved in other, more illegal deals involving servitude and the slave trade, but always discreetly and with as little personal risk as possible.At an early age, Nerita ran away and married a young trader. They traveled to Sish, and it was over a year before her father's hired help found her, kidnapped her, and brought her back to Neo Tanadil. As soon as possible she was married off to one of her father's business associates, a cruel and violent man. She had a child from this marriage, whom her husband had killed because he believed that it was not his own. Within three years of her marriage, her husband was dead, stabbed in the back while walking in a particularly rough neighborhood. Shortly thereafter she married her third husband, a prominent member of society who was widely rumored to have close connections to the underworld. They were married for fifteen years, and seemed to be genuinely happy. Most people agree that she had no part in his eventual assassination. (For the curious she didn't.) Her next conquest, uh, husband was a wealthy man many years her elder, a pillar of society, the younger son of nobility and a Council member. Tragically, he died of a heart attack on their fifth anniversary. It must have been something he ate.... Nonetheless, through good acting, bribery, blackmail, and who knows what else, she was voted to take her husband's place on the Council. Or she wasn't, and she's currently working on another tactic. Nerita is exceedingly intelligent and cunning, and vain in the way only women of fading beauty can be. She likes to surround herself with young and handsome men, and male PCs may easily find their fortunes tied to her whims. As a Council member, she will generally vote for that which benefits her most, although she is clever enough to make great shows of generosity toward the disadvantaged from time to time, so that she might appear to be a 'champion of the people.' She is about as corrupt as you can get. However she is enough of a politician to serve Neodil well whenever doing so does not interfere with her own self interest... Nerita believes that her first husband was killed by her father's hired men, along with her infant son. However, both still live in Sish. Her son would be nearly thirty years old by now. Either or both might show up if things ever get boring. |
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