Brainstorming the City of Nagem

[chronoplasm]

The city of Nagem was once a humble fishing town. When plague broke out however, the people cried out to the gods and they cried out to the clerics of Los. They received no help from either.
A group of brave townsfolk decided to find the gods themselves. Believing the nearby dungeon to be a gateway to the spirit world, they people journeyed down in search of answers.
They did not find the gods, but instead they found a devil.
This devil did not appear as a menacing destroyer, but as a well-dressed scribe who called himself Mephistopheles.
Mephisto put the people's hearts at ease by cleaning their wounds and easing their pain. He fashioned a strange device out of a metal tube and two curved glass lenses, and used to to show people what was going on beneath their skin. He showed them that their plague was not caused by demons, but by tiny creatures called animalcules.

Mephistopheles showed the people how to kill the animalcules with boiling water and herbal treatments, and how to build up resistance with innoculations. Mephistopheles contributed many books to the town and trained people in the ways of arcana.
Mephistopheles had to leave eventually, to avoid bringing the wrath of the gods upon the town, but before he did, he founded a great university.


Nagem is a city of scholars now, but hated by many religious orders. Nagem is home to wizards, warlocks, necromancers, and psions, and it is the birth place of the Tieflings. It is also a haven for thieves and outcasts and a recruitment place for pirates, as many students turn to illicit means to pay off their student loans.


Long coats and tri-corner hats are fashionable in Nagem.



So, theres what I have so far. Any suggestions?

 

[arcanaman]

So Far so good

 

[exile]

The city's leadership is the same or a reflection of the University's leaderships: lots of titles like dean (archdean?), chancellor, etc. Low-ranking civil servants are called professor.

If the city has a church at all, it is of course dedicated to Mephistopholes. Called the Church of the One Truth, this institution's services focus on discrediting through reason the existence of other gods. A secret sect of the church also launches actual physical attacks against the churches, clergy, and worshipers of other gods (and not just good gods).

The price of academic failure (or perhaps only cheating) is incredibly high. Failed students (or maybe just cheaters) are subjected to a ritual that burns out their ability to wield arcane power and transforms them into deformed creatures with huncbacks and clubbed feet. Called drudgethralls, these poor souls are used throughout the university (maybe the whole city) to perform all amnner of manual/slave labor.

Those are my thoughts for now. Hope you like.

Chad

 

[exile]

The drudgethrall ritual could also be inflicted upon students who defalt on their student loans.

 

[chronoplasm]

I think that would be too harsh for failures, but it sounds like a good punishment for cheaters and deadbeats.

I like the idea of a group that goes out and tries to discredit and secretly attack other religious orders. Could make for some good adventures.