Locales

Regions

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This campaign begins in the a region of the Eastern Continent known as the Southern Vale. The Southern Vale is mostly plains and forest, surrounded on three sides by the Arcala Mountain range, with an incredibly dense forest to the West.

Noteworthy Places

Settlements

Archdale is the city where the Keepers of the List campaign begins.

Demographics

Archdale is a Large City, with a population of roughly 30,000. It main source of commerce comes from the fact that it is located at the intersection of two popular trade routes: The King's Road, which travels from Serasham, on the Western coast of the continent through the Grey City, the capitol of Eodon, and across the Eastern border; and the wide Terathon River, which runs south from the Northern Mountains all the way to the South Astral Sea. Archdale functions as a bustling center for trade, therefore, and as such the town is often full of merchants from far-away lands, and many important nobles stop in Archdale on their travels across the country. Unlike the less-savory city of Serasham, however, the streets are constantly patrolled by town guards, and as such crime is relatively uncommon for a city of such size and status. Most common folk are farmers or manufacturers, but merchants of all sorts ply their wares in the markets of Archdale.

History

Archdale as it now stands has been an important center of trade in Eodon for the past five hundred years, ever since the building of the King's Road. About fifty years ago, however, in 463 YNR, a great earthquake struck the region, and the city was virtually split in half across its midsection. The Northern half remained mostly undamaged, but the Southern half sunk about a hundred feet down into the earth, leaving a sheer cliff splitting the two halves of town, and halting trade on the Terathon River. When it seemed Archdale was doomed to fall into obscurity with its loss of business, a group of engineers known as the Diten Corps, led by an enterprising mason named Jeremiah Diten, developed a revolutionary lock system that allowed boats to be raised and lowered through a sophisticated series of pumps and gates, thus allowing business to continue. A zig-zagging path was carved into the cliff, allowing travel (albeit with difficulty) between the Northern and Southern halves of the city.

Even with commerce able to continue, however, the town had suffered serious damage. The Southern half of the city, or the Lower Ward as it came to be called, was reduced to little more than rubble, and hundreds of people were killed in the calamity, with many more injured. The city leaders tried to rebuild as best as they could, but even after most of the damage was repaired, the Lower Ward had become a slum, with only the poor remaining. Crime ran rampant for some time, and even today the Lower Ward has a reputation for being a town of beggars and cutpurses, while the Upper Ward has frequent patrols, upscale shops and expensive inns.

In an attempt to restore morale and to raise money after the calamity, the city leaders came up with an event that occurs every year called Quest Day. On Quest Day, all of the taverns across the city welcome adventurers of all kinds to their tables. People travel from all over the world to gather in Archdale- explorers and thrillseekers come in search of dangerous work slaying monsters and plumbing the depths of forgotten tombs, and those looking to pay for such services (known as "Questgivers") register with the city clerk beforehand, and then settle into the tavern of their choice and wait for the adventurers to flood in. The town receives a small registration fee from each Questgiver, and the taverns enjoy the increased business from all of the travelers.


Map Key

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On the map, the various sections of town are identified as follows:

Green

The green sections alongside the Terathon River are docks, harbors, and shipping warehouses. The businesses along the upper level of the river are more expensive (and see more business) than their lower level counterparts, and as such provide better security and services to their clients. As trade has been an important part of the city since its founding, many of the business are owned by the same few families, and have been for generations.

Around Quest Day, any empty (or even mostly empty) warehouses are converted into ramshackle taverns to accommodate the massive influx of travelers. These taverns tend to be very low quality, however, and are typically visited by inexperienced adventurers on their first Quest Day. As such, experienced questers tend to avoid them.

Purple

The purple sections on the upper ward indicate the wealthier half of the city- the streets are patrolled regularly, the businesses offer quality goods and services in exchange for slightly marked-up prices, and many of the taverns do not allow adventurers who are rowdy, openly carrying weapons, or who do not purchase a minimum amount of food or ale. (Many of them waive these rules on Quest Day, however.) The residents of the upper ward typically pay higher taxes and will rely on the town guard to keep the streets clear.

Yellow

The yellow sections indicate the high-class noble district of Archdale. Most of the properties employ private guards, the streets are under constant surveillance by the city, and most of the businesses and homes use magical wards in addition to standard security measures. Anyone openly carrying weapons are ushered off the streets quickly, and few businesses (taverns included) will serve anyone who is not a regular customer. Virtually all of the residents of this district are descended from the founding fathers of the city, and/or own businesses along the Terathon.

Before the earthquake that split the city in 463 YNR, this district did not exist- it was simply another part of the richer neighborhoods (which were located near the King's Road). Once the city was split, however, the wealthy took hold of the edge of town overlooking the southern half of the country, and it became what is known today.

Red

The red section denotes the lower ward, the low-class section of Archdale. The lower ward is cramped, dirty, and dangerous for anyone not familiar with it. Property in the lower ward is comparatively inexpensive (when space can be found), but staying there comes at a price- guard patrols are practically unheard of in most parts, and as a result the crime level is higher than most cities. Prostitution and gambling go on daily in the dark alleyways, and more than one inn has a reputation of a visitor's possessions (or worse) going missing. The average tavern hosts a brawl at the drop of a hat, and most do nothing to end a fight (some even take wagers on the winner).

Orange

The orange section indicates city-owned businesses. The orange section is where you can find City Hall, the Mayor's residence, and the world-renowned Magic Academy. Its streets are patrolled frequently, and shops tend to offer exotic products and services catering to magic students from other parts of the world.

Noteworthy Locations

1. City Hall
Right at the corner of the Terathon Minor and the King's Road, the tall white building stands proudly, its delicately manicured lawn inviting townsfolk to enter.

2. Old King's Road
When the earthquake hit, it split straight through the King's Road about a mile outside of the city. Rather than bother with carving a tight corridor into the cliffs, a new section of road was built to bypass the broken earth. The old section of the King's Road still exists (though the city's West Gate was blocked off and rebuilt to accommodate the new road) and is still maintained by the city for aesthetic purposes. (Its proximity to the wealthiest residents of the city likely influenced this decision.)

3. Terathon Falls/The Lock
A marvel of engineering, the lock is a massive machine consisting of gears, valves, and movable stone that allows the operator to raise and lower the water level of the river, allowing boats to travel up and down the waterfall caused by the earthquake that split the city in half. In addition to the trade that passes through the city, and the students that come to Archdale to learn magic, it is not unheard of for engineers to come from all over the world to witness the device in action.

4. The Small Falls
When the lock was built at Terathon Falls after the earthquake, the small offshoot- Terathon Minor- was deemed less of a priority, and as such nothing was done to allow passage. As a result, Terathon Minor is still used for trade- but only for the wealthy, as the extra costs needed (ships must unload, travel by land to the upper level, then load into a separate ship) make it prohibitive compared to the flat fees required to use the lock. Nobles are happy to pay the extra costs, however, as it affords them a private means of trade not cluttered by the general populace.

5. Cliff Corridors
When the earthquake hit the city, it destroyed the roads that originally connected the north and south halves of the city. In order to allow passage, three corridors were carved into the steep cliffside, each following a tight zigzag pattern. Even with three such passages, these zigzagging corridors tend to get extremely congested with pedestrians and wagons during peak hours.

6. The Drunken Dragon
One of many taverns in the city of Archdale, this is where our campaign began. It has a reputation for good food, good ale, good entertainment, and on Quest Day, good quests.

7. West Gate
The gate allowing passage in and out of the city walls on the west side following the King's Road.

8. East Gate
The gate allowing passage in and out of the city walls on the east side following the King's Road.

9. The Founder's Statue
Fortunately poised near the edge of the cliff overlooking the lower ward stands a tall statue of one of the city's founders, Saethorn Velundar. A handsome, bespectacled man with long hair and a flowing cloak, Saethorn stands holding a book in one hand, his other stretched out pointing at the horizon. Saethorn is said to have named the town, and he is credited with starting the Magic Academy several hundred years ago.

10. Upper Dock Office
Run by a burly dwarf named Halstomun Strongbeard, the upper docks deal with any business that comes from the north, and the upper office is where the lock controls are located. While less busy at night than in the day, there are workers operating the lock at all hours of the day.

11. Lower Dock Office
The lower docks deal with any business that comes from the south. Since the lock controls are located at the upper docks, the workers have a series of symbols they convey using flags.

12. Magic Academy
Started by city founder Saethorn Velundar, the prestigious Magic Academy attracts arcane students from all around the world. It specializes in low-level magic spells, meaning that any wizard gifted enough to progress past 5th level must travel elsewhere to continue their training.

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