Shelzar: City of Sin; Questions, Answers and stuff in between

[Nightfall]

I have the book. Really great stuff. Not sure about the editing in places, but the maps are great, the NPCs interesting (especially the one on page 95 Thanks Dave!), and some pretty good plot hooks, both in the adventure section of the book and throughout the book. The history of the city is pretty sweet too. Ties in well with everything that's come so far in the S&SS/Scarred Lands.

Oh yeah, definately some disturbing things in the city folks. Don't believe, just out the brothels. (And there are a LOT Of them. )

So you got questions, I got the answers. (Just like on page 95. )

 

[WayneLigon]

What kind of city map we have here? A plan, like in Genuave (sp?): Stones of Peace, or the 'drawing of the city' type 'map' like in the Iron Kingdoms book? Are there larger maps of each section? Any building interior maps?

Just from the cover, it sounds like something I need; I always need a dark, decadent city for people to visit

 

[Nightfall]

Does over 20 brothels satisfy your ideal of dedecant?


As for the map, it's done by Daniel Day. There are three maps. One is of the area around Shelzar, detailing trade routes as well as points of interest.

The second one shows the sub-divisions of the city, (areas) the third map has markings of locales of note for each section. (All numbered, though I'm still having trouble finding 1. But hey it's a floating crap game, so it's to be expected. )

 

[Crothian]

What's the feel of the city? Does it feel so seedy that it's hard to believe people live there? Or is a good balance? Does it talk about the thoughts of good aligned citizens in respect to this City of Sin?

 

[Nightfall]

Well it's got seedy parts. (The Maze for starters) but there are some good parts such as the old Merchant districts. Most of the goodly people do manage to eeke out a decent living, mainly because of laws against blasphemy and the ideals on which the city was founded. (Which is kind of odd since they were originally Slacerian followers that decided to know experience was a high way of achieving personal and thus near deific status) So it's a very eclectic mix of good, morally ambigious, and evil. (Plus the fact getting laid in the city is pretty easy, no matter WHERE you are. ) My overall feel, think old time Constantipole just after the rise of the Arabian empire. It's certainly a mix of that and a little bit of Ravensbluff.

 

[Crothian]

The Maze?? Is it the seddiest place in the city? Do police types only go there in the day and only in large numbers? That would describe the Maze in Sanctuary, the city of thieves World and the seediest city of them all. I wonder if they used that as inspiration for this?

 

[Nightfall]

Wouldn't suprise me. Yes it's the seediest place of them all. The local guards some times go in there....but not always. (They do go in large numbers) Mainly it's home to one of the major criminal orgs, the Sa'an. (If you remember the Sa'an is group that the Shadow of Shelzar uses to run his illicit stuff.)

 

[Crothian]

That's cool, it's good to see Thieves World having a lasting effect on the industry and its people. Sounds like a really cool book.

 

[Nightfall]

It is.

There are 10 distinct districts in the city. Here's a listing with a brief over-view:

The Shadhi: This it low rent/poorest district. Home to the peasants and those that do much of the laboring, especially in the Golden triangle. (Shelzar's answer for how to feed a populace without going blind from fishing.)

The Adazi District: The home to many of the lesser merchants in the city, it's also one the fastest growing parts of the city

The Pezwarhi: This the place that many of the powerful, wealth and influential merchants (including House Asuras) have as homes
Also here is the menagerie where lots of strange and wonderful things can be found. (Including a dragon. )

The Maze: This is kind of the world veiw of Shelzar as many brothels and theives work out of here. Very disreputable but also one of the more visited places in the city. Also the Cult works out of here.

The South Docks: Home of the worst scum imaginable, the south docks is where much of the illegal activities occur.

The Souk: Home to much trade as it's kind of the world's largest open air bazaar. Beware of cut purses and thieves, as they prowl here as well.

Old Town: Home of the provincal goverment, as well as one of the OLDEST (and that's saying something) part of the city. Here is all the political wheeling and dealing is done (publically)

The Merchant Quarter: Slightly misnomer, as much of the city IS about trade, this home to shops owned by influential and powerful merchant houses. It's also one of the nicest spots in the city. The Calastian Embassay is also located here

The Foreign Quarter: Formerly home to many foreign merchant, this district deals in black market goods as well as back room deals. Only thing of note, Nemorga got a shrine here.

North Docks: While it doesn't have the same volume of trade as the South Docks, the North Docks do handle much of travel and smaller ships. Thus this is a nice stopping place for people and you find a wide variety here.

 

[Nightfall]

So any more questions?

(Oh did I forget to mention Rie is in the book as well? Nice pic of her.)