L4W:Daunton
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Overview
Located at a "stable point" amongst the seas and blessed with a large bay and other natural resources Daunton has grown from a small fishing village to one of the largest and certainly most prosperous cities on the Seas. The flood of refugees in the closing days of the Kingdom of Allaria brought a vibrant, thriving culture focused on inclusion and education; the best parts, they felt, of the land they loved but could not save.
Geography
![Drawn by [www.tommartinart.com Dr. Midnight] (Commissioned by Graf)](/wiki/index.php/Image:TI_Map_Daunton.jpg)
Daunton is used interchangeably to refer to both the city and island it dominates.
The City
The city of Daunton has grown from a small fishing village to be one of the largest and most prosperous metropolises on the Shifting Seas. The city itself surrounds an unusual double bay; the outer bay is used for primarily for commercial shipping, the inner houses berths for local fisherman as well as a number of wealthy seaside neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods
Cobblestop
The unofficial arcanists ward of the city. Located on top of of a steep and winding hill the neighborhood is a maze of steep, twisty streets leading up to Shattered Spire is its most notable landmark. A description of Cobblestop.
The Commons
A district located on the small penninsula between the inner and outer harbors. Also known as "Old Daunt'n" and "The Gateway to the City", this area is the site of Daunton's original settlement.
The Commons is a popular marketplace to visitors and locals. Due to its proximity to the outer harbor, there is an abundance of goods just in "off the boats" available for sale by vendors (not to mention the constant influx of "colorful characters" in port from exotic locales)... and the district's close proximity to the wealth and influence of the inner harbor, guarantees the safety & security of its patrons.
Most business is conducted in the streets; where the vendors, artists and performers ply their respective trades. One of the specialized vendors of the area is refered to as a "Cafe". The first was opened by a retired sailor, named Caf e'Barista, and was essentially an outdoor tavern that doesn't serve alcohol (but instead specializes in serving a hot, brown liquid; made by passing boiling water through a specially-ground, roasted bean). The energizing beverage soon became a hit with both visitors & the locals, and cafes began springing up all over the district.
Note Worthy Locale : Fisherman's Alley
This used ot be a public place built around a statue of Arek Steelsheath and dedicated to her memory. It is now squatted by peddlers and vendors. It is featured in the adventure Zombies and Crooks
The Fisherman's Alley market had sprung illegally in the most convenient location; it was officially a public square dedicated to Arek Steelsheath, one of the Five, the heroic swordmistress. A magnifient statue, 20 feet high, still reminded everyone of the place's original purpose. But the location was ideally located near to the docks and on a well travelled street toward the heart of the city and so soon vendors and peddlers were squatting the square. No effort to clear the square had ever been successful and soon the authorities just gave up. Now it was a sprawling affair with stands and tent everywhere and a thick crowd that made navigating the area difficult at best.
It was bordered by worn out apartment buildings that rented cheap due to the persistent odour of fish driving down the value. This was a problem that Harann, a somewhat well known elderly retired adventurer, had used to his advantage. The sophisticated and cunning half-orc barbarian had bought for cheap a location near the market and had opened a restaurant without kitchens! His waiters had arrangements with the nearby vendors. He even mitigated the odour problem with the use of a curious enchanted statue of a sea gull that acted on the mind of people to convince them they were smelling and hearing the sea. His ancient partners had thought he was crazy to claim it as part of his loot instead of an enchanted weapon, but now he enjoyed a much more prosperous retirement then they did. He had named his establishment, logically enough, the Raging Sea Gull.
Noteworthy Locale : The Custom's Bonded Warehouse
This is where the Customs authority store the goods that have been confiscated because the duties weren't paid or simply because they were illegal. They await either eventual destruction or the payment of a fine before being released. Some items have been stored there for years. The site has recently been the site of large battle between the heroes of Fisherman's Alley and Rinch's Gang.
Overgrowth
An area on the northeast side of the city, near the forest that surrounds the inland side of Daunton. It used to be quite affluent, but now it is a maze of ruined buildings and lawless alleys. An excellent hiding place for criminals.
(information taken from The Long Arm of Lauto)
The Interior
The island itself is a bit more than thirty miles long on the N/S axis, featuring a deeply forested interior and shear cliffs around all sides. The cliffs recede to sea level only at one point, the large double bay around which the city of Daunton is built.
At least the isle is 30 miles long if you sail around it. With the linkages to the feywild apparently reopening the interior of Daunton has become increasingly difficult to map. The effects are sporadic now but there are persistent rumors the interior of the island is growing in size. In some cases causing trips to the interior that would take only a few hours to take days or more.
New valleys, rivers, mountains and other features have been reported; some of them closely matching geographical features not seen since the days of Arga the Black.
This effect has led credence to the theory circulating in arcane circles that Arga's rituals were never permanent and the death of her student Esthanapiros has some how allowed the feywild to slip into sync with Daunton's interior again. Prognosticators warn darkly of the not so distant past, when Daunton's interior was so heavily warped by the feywild as to have been massive, and hordes of viscous humanoids from the savage lands poured through the feywild to assail Daunton in unending waves.
Recent History
Daunton is has long been a beacon of light in the shifting seas famous for its cosmopolitan attitude, and being a place of tolerance and inclusion where learning is respected. Adventurers and mercenaries have long congregated in this beacon of light in a vast, shifting ocean that is all too dark and dangerous. It is a small town city of significant size built into the side of a large bay; the rest of the island features a mostly unsettled wilderness, resources that allow the town to prosper. A wilderness that has grown hostile and dark in recent years.
The Daunton has always been known for its heroes, drawn from the pool of adventurers who visit it. The greatest heroes of recent memory were the five. They served as Daunton 's protectors for over a decade growing in power and renown. Eventually their fame grew and petitioners came from far and wide pleading for assistance. Two years ago it was only the brave efforts of the five that saved Daunton and the Near Isles from destruction; a feat that cost them their lives.
Gangs
As much as Daunton is known for its heroes, so too is it known for its gangs. Northern Daunton is plagued with scores of petty mafiosos vying for power. Traditionally, fear of retribution from the Five kept the gangs' activities to a minimum; few guards patrol areas dominated by gangs, so the system was somewhat self-regulating. However, recently some gangs have been taking bolder action, such as public displays of violence and taking a more active role in Daunton's politics.
The Days of Darkness
A cult (the Brotherhood of the Bright Eon), more deceitful, if not powerful, than any that had appeared in recent memory had integrated itself on the monastery of one of the nearby islands (island #5) summoning one of the horrid monstrosities of myth from the depths. The five were questing on another plane and returned too late; their raid on the monastery was not in time. The ritual completed the monstrosity rose from the depths. And the five would fight their final, most desperate battle.
The battle to defeat the elder thing raged for three days; invisible to the town now blanked with thick black clouds. For three days the sun never rose and storms of black rain lashed the island.
Grown men cried when the third morning brought the sun's light and they looked out over quiet seas. The thing was gone, driven back to the depths, but the five were never seen again.
Since then the flow of adventures to the isles has become a flood of would-be heroes. Some seek to take the place of the Five, some to honor them, some to struggle to fill the massive vacuum left by their passing and an unfortunately numerous few to serve dark forces that seek to take advantage of their deaths. In addition to this sudden upsurge in brave warriors, cunning rogues and wise mystics the death of the five has brought other, less welcome changes. The island's interior had grown dark and dangerous, threatening the logging and other industries the town has long engaged in. Loggers whisper of seductive tunes playing from glades in the forest; signs that the fay, who long avoided the island under a treaty with the five have returned.
The likewise the "merchants of Bacarte" have grown more aggressive, particularly the powerful hobgoblin clans. The flow of wealth into the city has increased as the merchants have begun to increase their activities bringing much enjoyed prosperity to certain elements of the city. Yet wiser members of the city are concerned.
Places of note
The Great Library
The Library of Daunton is but a pale shadow of the Great Library of Allaria. Some say that one book in ten was carried to safetly. Some say less. Even so the mighty dome that looms over inner bay is the largest building in the City by an order of magnitude. Though they may call her the "ol' egg" even the hardest Dauntonian heart can't help but skip a bit in pride when the sun breaks over the white marble ovoid.
The library has been the target of many thieves but the formidable defenses including an ever shifting array of puzzles and combination locks backed up by immobilizing traps (initially) and more dangerous guardians presents a challenge even to the most seasoned thief. It's said that Mireva took great affront at the destruction of the Library of Allaria and thieves among the stacks often earn her ire; most serious bibliophile scoff at reports of the library shifting about to confound the thief, but there are few among the rogues of Daunton who would accept such a mission.
The Hanged Man Inn
The Hanged Man Inn is notorious for attracting adventurers from all over the world, and many a tale told starts with an anxious employer entering the rowdy common room of that establishment. The best known inn in town it has not one but two "authentic Old Vic skins" decorating its walls.
The Hanged Man Inn contains a portal to the Drowned Man, a tavern on Bacarte. It functions much the same way save that the Hanged Man charges significantly more for the three drinks required to get through the portal reliably.
The Tower of the Five
The people of Dauton were always pleased that the Five captured evil artifacts (and according to some rumors, creatures that were too powerful to kill, or cursed victims they hoped to redeem) and locked them safely away. Only a member of the five could open the tower once it was sealed, insuring that the town would never be threatened by the darkness contained within. With their sudden death the sealed tower poses a problem for the city. It is a symbol of brave heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for the city and a potential threat no one knows how to deal with.
The Shattered Spire
Once a thriving hub of transit and communication the Brothers of the Spun Staff (a group of arcanists devoted to Hermethis) the spire, with its twisting double shape now lies in ruin; a victim of a savage attack by suicidal cult members (a failed attempt to prevent the Five from returning and stopping their hideous ritual).
The gates from the spire lead far and wide and access, covetously guarded by the Brotherhood, was much desired by the adventurers. The brothers were quick to deny use to any who couldn't pay their hefty fees or those of a more military bent.
The Brotherhood all perished in the attack, and with them knowledge of the codes and sigils they used to activate their portal system. However rumors persist that the cult may have taken a complete set of code books with them before they destroyed the spire; recovering those books could be the first step in regaining access to the priceless portal system.
The Street of Flags
This well tended street is named for the many embassies that line the road. Many of the far flung powers of the Shifting seas; like the Jade Kingdom, maintain an embassy here nestled among small green gardens that are frequented by political visitors to Daunton.
The Temple of Night and Day
This unusual temple is dedicated to both Peresefa and Dayna and espouses a number of religious positions that are rejected by the more orthodox churches. The is priesthood predominantly female and very inclusive, provided you adhere to the groups militant stance on a variety of issues. A small group of drow, liberated by a raid fifty years live around the temple and operate it during the night.
Both Aurelia Carenvale and Keshana Thayul of the Five were prominent members of the church.
The Chapel of the Obolus
Dedicated to the god of death, the shadowlands and wealth this temple to Lauto is one of the fanciest and most well appointed buildings on the isle.
It is named for an artifact that is said to rest within its inner temple, the black coin, Obolus, which legend tells Vulkar forged from the soul of the shadow titian and used to pay for the return of the Sky Thunder, a weapon prepared for Joven and which Vulkar foolishly lost to Lauto in bet.
It's said that the coin allows the dead to be raised without paying Lauto... and that the temple's wealth comes from the fees paid by adventurers seeking to be raised.
The Last Forge
The birthplace of Dauntonian warforged the forge is a crumbling building resting in the ruins of the the Great Library. A pair of rusting and battered iron golems stand on either side of the wide entry way. A century ago they would animate and assail any non-warforged who approached, but now they simply turn their iron heads to watch those who approach.
The inner courtyard holds an open fire, supposedly continuously lit since before the fall of the kingdom. An ancient warforged named Tender guards it day and night; those who respect the ancient traditions of protection and defense that guided the warforged and placed them among Allaria's greatest defenders feel that the devoted Tender reflects all that is good. Younger more forward minded individuals, including a few younger warforged, argue that he should be doing more productive things.
All warforged have a room of their own within the Forge, though some have not used it in decades.
The creation forge itself is located beneath the Last Forge; only a handful of warforged are able to bypass the powerful wards protecting it and enter its presence.
The Temple of Open Hands Eyes and Minds
A testament to Daunton's open-mindedness the Brother and Sisterhood of Open Hands, Eyes and Minds Seeking The One Exalted Truth (usually just called the Open Brothers) is considered a mystery cult (at best) in most other lands (The Imperium punishes membership with "imprisonment and reeducation until the deluded has recovered their good sense, plus an additional ten years").
The Open Brothers ascribe to the heretical idea that teaches that Mireva teaches a "secret method to enlightenment". Even most adherents don't understand all the convoluted meanderings of logic in the order's teaching but the basic gist is well known among the knowledgeable: Orthodox teaching suggests that Mireva was born of idea, Joven's divinity rational though that became an independent entity. The Brothers believe that Mireva is both more and less: is actually the idea of self-actualization, of self-enlightenment and of personal ascension. That through studying clues that Mireva has hidden in the world, and through the use of arcane logic, they can reach some sort of exalted state*. The Brothers themselves, decry, a more radical sect, one that teaches that Mireva is of a new age of gods, who will overthrow the current Pantheon.
*=Doctrine is not clear on what this state is. Anyone who reached it would, necessarily, find themselves constrained from speaking of it. Many brothers feel that the state itself change in some fashion depending on the individual, much as the path is supposed to be different.
Most Dauntons know the Open Brothers as good, if muddled people. The more extreme members, who wear simple robes and prowl the streets asking people "questions designed to inspire insight" (but mostly seem to spout gibberish in a good matured way) are the targets of gentle derision. They believe that they should offer help to those in need (not unusual) but also feel that all physical action is inherently equal. So many of the more devout spend their days cleaning the streets around their shrine.
The Shrine itself is a simple building built around a ten-side open courtyard dominated by a statue of Mireva's enlightened form (she has 20 arms breaking into innumerable hands each one forming a specific hand sign, each of which is supposed to be a clue). The statue also has 20 eyes, which were recently defaced by vandals.
Candle Hill Monastery
The residence and work place of The Order of the Divine Pen. Originally built in a solitary location on a hall just outside of town. The Monastery got it's name from the candlelight pouring from the windows as the monks labored long into the night. The monks here are historians, religious scholars, and scribes, spending most for their time copying books for preservation and to add to the library.
However, due to their knowledge, many an adventurer has made friends with the monks, in order to gain insight to many mysteries and legends.
The Officia Politica
On the corner of the intersection of Cobblestop’s main street, the Street of Flags and the Lord’s Quarter (the estates of Daunton’s upper class), is a large imposing public building. The Officia Politica is the centre of Daunton’s administration, the place where current public records are made and kept (for a few years before they are transferred to the Great Library), where the Lord’s Council meets four times a year and it is also the base of operations for the Politica.
The Politica are the younger members of the founding families that are more involved in the day-to-day running of the city and its interests than their rich Lords and Ladies, who are more interested in the extravagance and fineries that their status brings them.
Personalities and creatures
The Mayor, Gunter Brunt
A former squire to Jeronel Threehammer; the Brunt has been mayor for close to ten years. He is determined that Daunton not depend upon one set of heroes ever again. He feels bitter that it took them so long to return his summons and guilty about their deaths. The hideous incurable sickness he suffered while journeying with the five frequently leaves him too weak to stand and he hopes to find a replacement before his body gives way completely.
Old Vic
A legendary monster, an old miser supposedly transformed by one of the gods into an immense crocodile for a forgotten crime. The creature has supposedly been killed several times (no less than three gigantic crocodile skins adorn local inns) but it always seems to return; bound by the curse.
Madam Redscale
An ancient dragonborn matron, the first permanent settler from the Kingdom of Jade to move to Daunton she has a reputation for politiness, education, and egocentricity as well as one of the most architecturally remarkable houses built in Daunton in recent memory.
Arga the Black
Deceased for many years this wizardess still casts a long shadow as the greatest hero in Daunton's recent memory (except possibly for the Five). Tales of her wit, beauty, charm and fierce warrior spirit have become legends; most scholars doubt that she defeated the Blue Dragon Naxithalis in an areal battle above the city for instance. However her greatest contribution to Daunton's saftey is indisputably the Great Ritual of Sealing which cut off linkages between Daunton's interior forests and the feywild; ending the bloody humanoid attacks from Savage Land tribes and bringing piece to the war-torn city almost 50 years ago. She is featured prominently in plays about that era, most famously in the Years of Steel. Her adopted son and student Mauros Esthanapiros was famously devoted to her, visiting the her memorial statue (in a park at the edge of the city which faces into the interior that she pacified) regularly.
Millienas D'Rawth
A swordsman and rake; early adventuring companion of the Five. For more see here.
Marley
Retired adventurer-turned-enigmatic gang lord, and former head of the Reckoners, one of Daunton's gangs that specialized in bodyguard and protection work. Nearly one-third of the taverns in Daunton employed a bouncer on Marley's payroll. A piece of green cloth tied to the right forearm was seen as a sign of allegiance to him. Missing, presumed dead at the hands of rival Hyann (see http://www.enworld.org/forum/living-4th-edition/250005-adventure-echoes-o.html for details).
Rinch the Riser
Rinch is a growing menace to the welfare of Daunton. He has been killed twice so far but always rose back from the dead to resume his reign of terror. What had begun as a typical gang of thugs living off extortion with a charismatic leader has become increasingly disturbing in later years. Rinch and his gang have started to deal with zombies and necromancers. Some mysterious property of Rinch's blood allows him to create zombies at an unprecendented pace. Still active in extorsion and burglaries of all kind, the actions of the gang have become bizarre of late.
His attempts to create a personal army backfired recently when one of his herd of zombies accidentally broke loose and created havoc in Fisherman's Alley. Loss of life was kept in the single digit only due to the heroism of six bystanders, adventurers who were in the market on various personal errands that day. They sponteneously united and handled the zombie herd. They then relentless pursued Rinch and their effort uncovered that the criminal mastermind had made an alliance of sort with a cult worshipping a fallen godlike figure that a select few know only as 'Usurper'. The nature of this fiend is still unknown, but his cult is steeped in shadowfell lore and provides insane monks and shadowy tentacle monster to Rinch's army. It is unclear at this point who serves whom, but it is obvious that Rinch's gang has motives more sinister than just greed.
Hyann
Hyann is an immigrant from the Isle of Laughing Gallows, and is one of the few gnolls currently living in Daunton. He is a proud, vain beast, and leads a gang appropriately named "Hyann's Pack". The handful of gnolls in Daunton swear fealty to him, as do various shifters, bugbears, minotaurs, and other bestial humanoids. The more exotic members are dwarfed in number by the mundane, however; most of his gang is of human stock, who are either strong-armed into following along or join up to see the fear in their enemies eyes as they announce their allegiance. Hyann's Pack are little more than glorified street thugs, and random muggings is their main source of income. Hyann is remarkably unsubtle, and tends to order hits rather than negotiate.
Gouki
Gouki is an enormous bear of a man hailing from the Kingdom of Jade. Bald, menacing, and barrel-chested, Gouki oversees the Iron Ring, Daunton's premiere underground fighting circuit. Everything from common dogs to exotic gladiators fight within the ring, and Gouki watches every match from a throne made of bronze. Gouki also heads the Iron Vanguard, a gang who cares specifically to the Iron Ring. Vanguard spokesmen do everything from book gladiators to forcefully collect debt from bad bets to cater hand and foot to the more wealthy spectators. The Iron Ring has no set location, and Dauntonian authorities are becoming increasingly frustrated with the rumors they hear of blood spilled in these bitter street fights. There are few rules within the Iron Ring; 1, All fights are to the death. 2, No ritual magic of any sort is allowed. 3, No one outside the ring may help those inside. 4, No one inside the ring may harm someone outside of it. Any infraction of the rules is dealt with swiftly and publicly by Gouki, who is quick to enter the ring and punish the transgressors. Gouki fights with no weapons or armor, only his fists, and he is the longest-living gladiator within the Iron Ring, having never lost a match.
Castor
Castor is a successful Fence operating near the docks. He owns an inn, called Castor's, that he uses as a front. He is a dark haired human, reasonably charming when he wants to, sometime caustic but never vulgar. He knows most of the players in his field and is in touch with organized crime. He used to be backed by the gang of Rinch the Riser but they had a falling out and now he uses his accumulated wealth to hire mercenaries for protection instead.
Game Notes: Castor can move pretty much any heroic tier items though he doesn't keep more than 3 to 5 on hand at any time. He can take requests. He can also be used a source of Knowledge on pretty much anything underworld related. He knows everything criminally related around the docks and is acquainted with what is happening abroad through many smugglers and burglars he maintain contact with.
Castor's Inn
The Cellar Street Level Second Floor Third Floor The Roof
Characters: Daunton
Characters hailing from Daunton are urban and sophisticated; or at least have grown up surrounded by people who consider themselves to be urban and sophisticated. They can hail from any race and all walks of life; all of them have deep roots in the city to which they were born.
See character creation for more details.
