EN World City Project: Government Affairs Submissions

[fusangite]

I've decided to do this exercise cold (without reference to any posts in this forum other than the one initiating this poll. Sorry for any statements here that are at variance with already agreed-upon material.

3. Military. What type of standing army does the city have? Composed of companies of mercenaries, city guards, loyal guardsmen, etc? Please post any thoughts you have here.

Even down to the palace guard, the entire armed force of Mor's End is composed of a single large mercenary company from a far-off land. The Schwelaku live in a walled ward of the city and do not mix with the city's indigenous inhabitants. A highly disciplined and savage people, their closed community is very well ordered if brutal in the extreme.

By the terms of their mercenary contract, only officers of the Schwelaku are allowed to learn the local language or communicate with the local citizens.

This arrangement has been in effect in the city since the mutiny and resulting civil war prior to Lady Kelvin coming to power.

7. Threats. What threatens the city of Mor’s End, keeping the government always on the watch and how does the government deal with these threats...ignore, keep a militia? Is it a maurauding band of ceatures nearby? Post here.

The City of Mor's End pays an annual tribute to both the Nation of Pyriati, a federated barbarian people of the Empire of the Clouds and to the Sultan of the Khanate of Hrib.

Although the long peace the city has enjoyed through these payments of tribute has allowed it to rise to a position of dominance over the war-ravaged region's trade, the annual demands of tribute are gradually outstripping the city's growing prosperity. There may soon come a time when the city can no longer pay its annual tribute without harsh taxation of the fragile economy.

Hope these ramblings are of use.

 

[Krug]

Fusangite,
Welcome. There's actually a thread to discuss military issues. You should try posting there.

 

[wizardoftheplains]

Hi Fusangite!
You're comments and new ideas are welcome. Feel free to post on all the Mor's End Threads.
gary

 

[Krug]

OK lets decide on the other sectors of town and name them:

The Squats - The rough part of town. Slums and squatters huts.

The Brown Market - The 'rough' market; frequented mostly by those from The Squats

Merchants Quarter - self explanatory, highly patrolled, with an additional levy

Foreign Quarter - To seperate them from locals. Where a majority of taverns and inns are.

The Docks - self explanatory, with warehouses

Old Town - Older part of Mor's End, where the castle is(?)

The Street of Crafts - A street to emphasize the best in craftsmanship in the region

The Yard(*) - For tournaments and fairs. Looking for a better name

The Towers - How many are there now? A tower of Clay and a Glaziers tower?

Dwarftown - Anything formalised? An area for Dwarves?

Mages - ?

There's been a lot of threads and too much for me to keep up, so if I missed anything, let me know.

 

[Conaill]

The Brown Market - The 'rough' market; frequented mostly by those from The Squats

I've got a "Beggers Market" on my map (area 4, top of page 2 in Geography).
I'd suggest having an open-air market square (fish market?), adjacent to a huge semi-indoor bazaar (converted houses and shacks), leading into a larger maze of tiny streets and houses. This would gradually blend into the Squats, the boundaries between the two would probably not be too clear.

Foreign Quarter - To seperate them from locals. Where a majority of taverns and inns are.

Keep in mind we also have ~200 monstruous inhabitants in Mor's End as well. They would likely cluster together in the Foreign Quarter too.

The Yard(*) - For tournaments and fairs. Looking for a better name

Do we have space for this inside the citadel? Have to check the cale on the map, but it seems like the central island should be big enough for this...

The Towers - How many are there now? A tower of Clay and a Glaziers tower?

That sounds like one and the same (considering that the potters are now integrated into the Glaziers Guild).

Any marvels of architecture we could make with fish silk? Maybe a crazed elvish architect?

Dwarftown - Anything formalised? An area for Dwarves?

Area 1 on my map, northernmost part of town, away from the water, and probably on a little hill

Mages - ?

Working on it. Probably tomorrow or so. The highest level mage in town has a tower on the small island downstream from the Citadel. He's a recluse, which provides for some good opportunities for intrigue, plot hooks and (conveniently) scaling of the magic level in the city.

 

[Krug]

Cool Connalli.Looks like everything's in good hands.

 

[Conaill]

We aim to please... and to procrastinate from doing real work, of course!

Speaking of which... Now that I finished my project I had going for work, I should have a little more time to write some stuff up. Keep an eye on the Guilds, Craft & Trade, NPC and Geography threads...

 

[fusangite]

6. Temples and Religion. The city has a collection of small local gods. Not important to develop larger ones since this city is meant to be adaptable to many DM campaigns who’ll usually import their own gods. But do any of the local dieties or beliefs particularly stand out...and why. Especially if they have any political muscle. Post here.

The most prominent local god in Mor's End is of course, Mor, founder of Mor's End. It is said that Mor was a human being whose mother died in child birth. Mor's father was a cruel man who sold his son to dwarven slavers.

Raised as a glorified draft animal in a highly ordered dwarven realm, Mor nonetheless realized he had a great destiny. As one of the mining slaves, he quickly learned many of the dwarven secrets of mining, smithing and masonry and came to be respected by his fellow slaves who included men, giants, gnomes, goblinoids and dwarves from other kingdoms.

One day, while working in the mines, there was a great cave-in in which Mor was believed to have been killed, under thousands of tons of stone. But somehow, by luck or magic art, Mor escaped and travelled through long-forgotten passages to the surface.

But instead of thanking the gods for allowing his escape and returning to his long-lost home, Mor travelled to the distant kingdoms from which his fellow slaves had been stolen or purchased and over seven years, raised a great army.

After seven years of marching, the army arrived at the gates of the dwarven kingdom and fought a great field against disciplined and cunning dwarves. But after a seven year siege, Mor and his army smashed through the stone gates of the dwarf kingdom and liberated their friends. Also, Mor took from the dwarves the great horde they had collected through tribute as well as the treasures from their mines.

While most of the slaves and the army returned to their homes, many like Mor had no home to which to return. It is said that following his instructions from a dream, Mor marched until he saw a a cactus with three eagles perched atop it at once.

It is on the precise site that Mor build his city (of course the cactus grove still remains at the centre of the city), aided by gnomes, giants and dwarves whose knowledge and strength allowed the construction of the many wondrous structures in the city and its impenetrable walls.

After his death, Mor was granted a place amongst the gods from whence he used, on occasion, to advise the city's first thirty-one mayors before their line came to an end.

Domains: Earth, War, Protection
Knowledge - Architecture & Engineering, Craft - Stonemasonry, Profession - Miner are available as class skills; also Clerics with sufficient intelligence can gain Dwarvish as a bonus language if appropriate.

 

[Tonguez]

It is said that following his instructions from a dream, Mor marched until he saw a a cactus with three eagles perched atop it at once.

LOL - great reference

But doesn't cactus imply that Mors End is in an arid region?

 

[fusangite]

LOL - great reference

But doesn't cactus imply that Mors End is in an arid region?

Well, a few possible ideas:
1. Mor's End is an arid region.
2. Mor's End is a region with little or no rainfall but has considerable groundwater (like the Okavango Delta in Botswana)
3. The region around Mor's End has cacti even though it is not arid (like Middlenotch Island in British Columbia)
4. The cactus at the centre of Mor's End is an ecological abberation; there are no others in the region.
5. We could change the plant to a Cactus Tree, a type of tree found in various climates in Africa.

Thanks for noticing the reference.