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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aeris Winterood" data-source="post: 667696" data-attributes="member: 2195">Asylum OverviewAsylumOverview:                   Asylum is a desperate city. Its history is relatively unremarkable and of interest only to the most studious of scholars.  The encroachment of the Veil changed everything. Now throngs of refugees (and the villains who prey upon them) have made Asylum their home. The luckiest of the newly arrived live in small, hastily constructed shacks; the others live in church sponsored group homes, or on the streets. The shantytown growing outside of Asylum is known by many names (and curses), but most call it “ScabTown”. In this tumultuous sea of despair, there still is hope. The human, dwarven and elven founders of the city are doing a fair job of maintaining order and civilization in Asylum, while preparing for the attack everyone knows must someday come.  The City is unofficially divided into six districts. War District:When the hammer of darkness comes to Asylum, the War District will be the anvil. This was the first part of the city to be heavily fortified, and garrisoned. When the city was first settled, many humans choose this section of the city to live in. It is dominated by two hills: Sentinel Hill, and Mider’s Hill. The Keep of men (a small, but well built stronghold) serves as both a city hall and garrison for the city’s troops. By far, the greatest structure of this district is The Great Sentinel. This 300’ tall tower was built by the skill of dwarves, elves and masters of the art of magic. The smooth gray stone tower was built on top of Sentinel Hill, which has the effect of making it seem even taller than it already is. Two towers branch off of the main tower about half way up. One of these towers is used by commanders as a war-room; the other is used as a garrison for the Asylum Windriders.  The tower originally housed students of the stars and arts. Now the great telescope is pointed westward, it continually watches the Veil for any sign of attack. Robe District:Temples dedicated to Auveth, Eliashar and Galerihan dominate this district. The spire of Eliashar is by far the most impressive. Situated on top of Dorin’s Hill, the tower slightly glimmers by night and day. It is beautiful to behold, and one of the few sources of hope in Asylum. A small library is also noted to be in this district. No one is sure who built this library, but its tomes and maps have proven valuable to more than one adventuring party. Flesh District:The Flesh District is as perverse as the Olven District is serene. The despair and fear of life in Asylum has created a need for depravity and decadence in many residents.  Bordellos are commonplace, and ladies of the night crowd the streets. Dog fights and robberies are the norm and it takes no great effort to find places where gladiators battle for coin in secret arenas. Murder is common in the streets of this district, despite the great efforts of the city guard. Almost every day, a body  (or two) are dragged out of the Black Pond. It is easy to find drugs which are used for brief  (or permanent) escapes from unhappy lives. Some believe that the criminal elements are becoming more organized and ruthless.  More than one unwary traveler has ended their story in the filthy streets of the Flesh District.     Hammer District:Every defender of Asylum has at least one blade that was forged in the Hammer District and some even rarer forged of green-steel. The dwarves chose to settle in this section of the city, and their song of their industrious hammering is non stop.  As many live under the streets as below them. Dorin’s Chimney provides a way for smoke to escape from dwarven forges that are well below the surface. It also is used as a means of city defense – if a 500-foot fall does not kill a foe, then certainly the forge fires will.   Olven District :The Olven district is the garden of Asylum. Plants and trees manage to survive in the streets, and the elves have made many gardens and parks in this district. The Gardens of Mourning are a place of both beauty and sadness, visitors can see rare botanical species and hear elven songs of remembrance. There are many halls in this district where elves train the city guard and other selected individuals in the arts of the bow and warcraft.   Coin District:   Almost anything imaginable can be bought or sold in this District. Prices for all goods in Asylum are paid for with a premium; not much stock is kept in case of a breeching of the Veil. A few small shops also may carry “special” types of goods as well.Defenses:The town defenders are hastily preparing fortifications. All around the city, an earthen wall has been erected. At the top of this wall is a wooden wall with ramparts. This wall encloses the city except for in a few important locations:Charity Gate: The main road into town leads to this gate. Outside, is the shantytown. Water Gate: This gate opens into Asylum’s port (which is itself unprotected). Mider’s Hill: Since this hill is so steep and unpassable, the wall is not built around it. Archers and crossbowman have a clear range to targets below the hill.Dorin’s Chimney: Directly in line with the wall, this rift is used instead of a wall to protect the Hammer District. The dwarves have dug small holes in the ground outside of the rift to slow down enemy troops and to make cavalry charges all but impossible.Vimlin Bridge Entrance: This opening leads to the Vimlin Bridge, the only bridge that crosses to the north side of the Slerotin River.The defenders are building a stone wall that will be just inside the wooden one. There are also a few small and well-protected stone structures already in place for defense.The Lock Boxes: This network of small fortified above ground rooms protect the city side of Vimlin Bridge. Any assault on The Five Brothers: These mini Dwarf keeps protect the city after Dorin’s Chimney. They were named after five dwarven brothers who went beyond the Veil to avenge the death of their father- they were never heard from again.  The dwarves are building a sturdy stone wall that will connect all five keeps.The Guard’s Hold: This hold protects the main gate. It also provides a garrison area for the city guard and protection from the dangers of the Flesh District.Mider’s Hold: This fort commands the area in front of Mider’s Hill. Many kill zones on the approach to the hill have been pre-sighted by the Hold’s catapults and scorpions.</blockquote>

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