Ptolus
This is the first of several tidbits about the city of Ptolus and its districts. I decided to put it here rather than disrupt the game thread.
Ptolus is a major city of about 30,000 people. It is located near a large bay on the southern end of the Whitewind Sea, and was originally built around a fortress, Dalenguard. Ptolus is built over an abandoned underground dwarven city, Dwarvenhearth, the ancestral home of dwarves known as the Stonelost. Called the "City of the Spire," Ptolus lies in the shadow of a strange rock formation rising impossibly high (almost 3,000 feet) and surrounded by mysterious legends and rumors. These tales tell of ancient battles wages and cities erected on the site. Many of them might be at least somewhat true, for recent developments have revealed vast complexes under the city.
Of late, Ptolus has become a city of adventurers as treasure-seekers have flocked there to explore and plunder the labrynthine structures beneath the streets. If the stories are true, these catacombs involve the sewers of the city, the remains of an older city (and its sewer system), Dwarvenhearth, and even more, plunging impossibly deep below the present urban area.
Ptolus lies in a cool, rainy coastal region with harsh winters. It serves as an important port on the Whitewind Sea and until recently was part of the Empire of Tarsis. With the collapse of the Imperial government, Ptolus now maintains a somewhat independent status, ruled by a council still dominated by representatives of an Empire far removed from the city's concerns.