City-State of Haven: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 09:58, 4 April 2024

Hidden away in the Iron Hills lies a small city, home to planetouched and arcanists alike, as well as smugglers, roustabouts, and ne'er-do-wells.

Political Structure[edit]

Leadership[edit]

The City is ruled by a being known only as the King of Smoke, a shadowy figure rumored to be more than mortal. He is served by a court of sycophants and hangers-on, but the day-to-day administration of the government largely falls to the Gray Guards and the merchant families.

Relationships with other nations[edit]

Haven was, for centuries, a hidden enclave of castaways and refugees. It developed its own culture, government, and defenses without the interference of the Crescent military. In the last 20 years, however, it has been recognized as sovereign City-State by the Jade Imperium and the Holy Nation of Crescent. This happened with the signing of the Treaty of St. Kerwyn.

Haven is now a bustling city of trade and enterprise, with two Lightning Rail lines running to Ferrodyne and St. Kerwyn.

Notable Facts[edit]

Flight and Teleportation magic are banned within the city, save for the Gray Guards, who have a reputation for knowing about - and showing up to stop - trouble almost as quickly as it starts.
Food is very expensive there - about four times the normal Crescent rates. Water is more expensive than wine.
The City was once very difficult to reach. Only accessible at dawn each day, it required a key to even approach the outer gate, known as the Setting Star Gate. Most keys were single-use, their magic being consumed with use. Some merchants are known to have had multiple-use keys. All keys are attuned to their users. Baelwren SummerStorm had a single-use key, in the form of a red-gold ring which was also a ring of mind shielding. It was destroyed when she guided the Companions of the Rising Sun to Haven.
It's considered impolite - bordering on a dueling offense - to talk or ask about someone's origins prior to their arrival in Haven.
Though composed of the same races you can find in normal Crescent society, the population balance of Haven is much different. There are far more monster races, planetouched, and not-exactly-mortals, and humans only represent a medium-sized fraction of the population.

Areas of Note[edit]

Map of Haven, showing major neighborhoods and holdings

Based on the report of Baelwren Summerstorm, Warden of the Tower.

Palace[edit]

1.1 - the Palace of Smoke, home to the King of Smoke and his courtiers.

Market Plaza[edit]

1.2 - the Market Warehouses
1.3 - Inn's Row: inns, taverns, and specialty stores

The Wingless Condor - Guardsmen tavern
Blue Tankard - Innovative drinks
Sunstroke - high-end food and entertainment
Liere's Corner - great food, naughty entertainment
Amber's - Traveler's inn
The Horizon - Haven's largest inn, for special events
Salon du'Masque - two rules - 100gp to enter and you must wear a mask. Everything else is permissible.
Tenferr's Spices
The Missing Page - books, maps, and history
Ali Mosafa's Mystical Emporium
Silver Clouds - hang gliders

1.4 - A door to the Athenaeum for Spiritual Harmony, located near to the Palace.

Forest of Wind[edit]

2.1 - Pillar Lake
2.2 - Gold and Silver Rivers
2.3 - Khalask Gate - main access to the Dwarven Mines and holdings
2.4 - The Chapel of the Mind
- What was once only a monastery for an obscure group of Monks has since been greatly expanded. It now houses the Haven branch of the College of Mages, which is open to all Havenites. Additionally, there is an oversized teleport circle that has enabled travel to the city of Everlight.

The southern building is the main building, where most of the students and the public go.
The northern building is reserved for dangerous experiments and powerful students who haven't yet learned control. It was Baelwren Summerstorm's home for many years, and the main site of the Companions of the Rising Sun's adventure Elementary, My Dear Inspector.

2.6 - The Gold Disc - an enormous gold disc, 300ft in diameter, hung from the mountain.

Warehouse District[edit]

4.3 - the Wind Gates - keys to the wards that hide Haven from outside attention.
4.4 - Warehouses - lots of warehouses and some party-time folks

Saman's Tattoo Emporium
The Fiend's Folly - drinking establishment, mostly for slumming aristos.

4.5 - The Lifts - open-air basket elevators on gigantic rusty chains. Just as terrifying as it sounds.
4.6 - The One Thousand Steps - don't like the lifts? Climb.

Longhaven[edit]

Estates of the rich and famous.
5.1 - Capak Family
5.2 - Copasac Family
5.3 - Dirac Family
5.4 - Dostavar Family
5.5 - Kanar Family
5.6 - Meraki Family
5.7 - Stenmark Family

The Military Zone[edit]

6.1 - Sky Riders
6.2 - Gray Elite
6.3 - Gray Guard

Condor Trail[edit]

The middle classes live here, along with the Nalan Family (7.1)

The Plazas[edit]

8.1 - Rusty Scimitar - 'disreputable' services, of the dagger-in-the-back variety
8.2 - Ninkala Family Estate
8.3 - Al'Hamzah Family
8.4 - Lusty Nymph - 'disreputable' services, of the naughty variety
Additional places of note:

The Golden Triangle
Kubisz' General Supplies
Jamjoud's Historical Curiousities
The Merry Widow
I'lam Mougy's Funerary
Jester's Warren - joke shop

Some of the more well-known taverns and emporiums of delight:
- "Grog" - grog
- "Stinky Camel" - information, for a price. See Thug, the barkeep.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-* The City is not ruled by the government of Crescent.  It is instead ruled by a being known only as the King of Smoke, a shadowy figure rumored to be more than mortal.
+[[Category: Needs Update]]
+[[File:Haven.png|250px|thumb|right|Map of Haven]]
+Hidden away in the [[Iron Hills]] lies a small city, home to planetouched and arcanists alike, as well as smugglers, roustabouts, and ne'er-do-wells.
+==Political Structure==
+===Leadership===
+The City is ruled by a being known only as the [[King of Smoke]], a shadowy figure rumored to be more than mortal. He is served by a court of sycophants and hangers-on, but the day-to-day administration of the government largely falls to the Gray Guards and the merchant families.
+===Relationships with other nations===
+Haven was, for centuries, a hidden enclave of castaways and refugees. It developed its own culture, government, and defenses without the interference of the Crescent military.  In the last 20 years, however, it has been recognized as sovereign City-State by the [[Jade Imperium]] and the [[Holy Nation of Crescent]]. This happened with the signing of the [[Treaty of St. Kerwyn]].
+Haven is now a bustling city of trade and enterprise, with two [[Lightning Rail]] lines running to [[Ferrodyne]] and [[St. Kerwyn]].
+==Notable Facts==
 * Flight and Teleportation magic are banned within the city, save for the Gray Guards, who have a reputation for knowing about - and showing up to stop - trouble almost as quickly as it starts.
 * Food is very expensive there - about four times the normal Crescent rates.  Water is more expensive than wine.
-* The City is difficult to reach.  Only accessible at dawn each day, it requires a key to even approach the city gate.  Most keys are single-use, their magic being consumed with use.  Some merchants are known to have multiple-use keys.  All keys are attuned to their users.  Baelwren has a single-use key, in the form of a red-gold ring.
+* The City was once very difficult to reach.  Only accessible at dawn each day, it required a key to even approach the outer gate, known as the [[Setting Star Gate]].  Most keys were single-use, their magic being consumed with use.  Some merchants are known to have had multiple-use keys.  All keys are attuned to their users.  [[Baelwren SummerStorm]] had a single-use key, in the form of a red-gold ring which was also a ring of mind shielding.  It was destroyed when she guided the [[Companions of the Rising Sun]] to Haven.
-* Ali Mosafa's Mystical Emporium. The only magic item merchant you've ever heard of, Ali Mosafa is well-known throughout Haven as an extremely honest - though tough - merchant.  He charges 50 gold, per person, for a guided tour through his merchandise.  This charge is applied to your purchase, should you choose to buy anything.  It is free to look around without a guide, but he won't tell you what anything does, and spellcasting is strictly forbidden. There are no returns or exchanges, though he does buy or trade magic items.
+* It's considered impolite - bordering on a dueling offense - to talk or ask about someone's origins prior to their arrival in Haven.
+* Though composed of the same races you can find in normal Crescent society, the population balance of Haven is much different.  There are far more monster races, [[:Category:Races#planetouched|planetouched]], and not-exactly-mortals, and [[human|humans]] only represent a medium-sized fraction of the population.
+==Areas of Note==
+[[File:Haven-hoods.png|250px|thumb|right|Map of Haven, showing major neighborhoods and holdings]]
+Based on the report of [[Baelwren Summerstorm]], [[Wardens of the Tower|Warden of the Tower]].
+===Palace===
+.1 - the Palace of Smoke, home to the King of Smoke and his courtiers.
+===Market Plaza===
+.2 - the Market Warehouses<br/>
+.3 - Inn's Row: inns, taverns, and specialty stores
+*The Wingless Condor - Guardsmen tavern
+*Blue Tankard - Innovative drinks
+*Sunstroke - high-end food and entertainment
+*Liere's Corner - great food, naughty entertainment
+*Amber's - Traveler's inn
+*The Horizon - Haven's largest inn, for special events
+*Salon du'Masque - two rules  - 100gp to enter and you must wear a mask.  ''Everything'' else is permissible.
+*Tenferr's Spices
+*The Missing Page - books, maps, and history
+*[[Ali Mosafa's Mystical Emporium]]
+*Silver Clouds - hang gliders
+.4 - A door to the [[Athenaeum for Spiritual Harmony]], located near to the Palace.
+===Forest of Wind===
+.1 - Pillar Lake<br/>
+.2 - Gold and Silver Rivers<br/>
+.3 - Khalask Gate - main access to the Dwarven Mines and holdings<br/>
+.4 - The [[Chapel of the Mind]]<br/> - What was once only a monastery for an obscure group of [[Monk|Monks]] has since been greatly expanded. It now houses the Haven branch of the [[College of Mages]], which is open to all Havenites. Additionally, there is an oversized teleport circle that has enabled travel to the city of [[Everlight]].
+*The southern building is the main building, where most of the students and the public go.
+*The northern building is reserved for dangerous experiments and powerful students who haven't yet learned control.  It was [[Baelwren Summerstorm]]'s home for many years, and the main site of the [[Companions of the Rising Sun]]'s adventure [[Elementary, My Dear Inspector]].
+.6 - The Gold Disc - an enormous gold disc, 300ft in diameter, hung from the mountain.<br/>
+===Warehouse District===
+.3 - the Wind Gates - keys to the wards that hide Haven from outside attention.<br/>
+.4 - Warehouses - lots of warehouses and some party-time folks
+*Saman's Tattoo Emporium
+*The Fiend's Folly - drinking establishment, mostly for slumming aristos.
+.5 - The Lifts - open-air basket elevators on gigantic rusty chains. Just as terrifying as it sounds.<br/>
+.6 - The One Thousand Steps - don't like the lifts?  Climb.
+===Longhaven===
+Estates of the rich and famous.<br/>
+.1 - Capak Family<br/>
+.2 - Copasac Family<br/>
+.3 - Dirac Family<br/>
+.4 - Dostavar Family<br/>
+.5 - Kanar Family<br/>
+.6 - Meraki Family<br/>
+.7 - Stenmark Family
+===The Military Zone===
+.1 - Sky Riders<br/>
+.2 - Gray Elite<br/>
+.3 - Gray Guard<br/>
+===Condor Trail===
+The middle classes live here, along with the Nalan Family (7.1)
+===The Plazas===
+.1 - Rusty Scimitar - 'disreputable' services, of the dagger-in-the-back variety<br/>
+.2 - Ninkala Family Estate<br/>
+.3 - Al'Hamzah Family<br/>
+.4 - Lusty Nymph - 'disreputable' services, of the naughty variety<br/>
+Additional places of note:
+*The Golden Triangle
+*Kubisz' General Supplies
+*Jamjoud's Historical Curiousities
+*The Merry Widow
+*I'lam Mougy's Funerary
+*Jester's Warren - joke shop
 * Some of the more well-known taverns and emporiums of delight:
-** "Sunstroke" - high-end food and entertainment
 ** "Grog" - grog
 ** "Stinky Camel" - information, for a price.  See Thug, the barkeep.
-** "Rusty Scimitar" - 'disreputable' services, of the dagger-in-the-back variety
+**
-** "Lusty Nymph" - 'disreputable' services, of the naughty variety
-* [[The Chapel of the Mind]]
-* It's considered impolite - bordering on a dueling offense - to talk or ask about someone's origins.
-* Haven is a much larger city than you would expect, given the amount of traffic you've observed passing through the Setting Star Gate.
+[[Category: Places]]
-* Though composed of the same races you can find in normal Crescent society, the population balance of Haven is much different.  There are far more monster races, [[plane-touched]], and not-exactly-mortals, and [[human|humans]] only represent a medium-sized fraction of the population.
+[[Category: Cities]]
+[[Category: Nations]]