TROUBLESHOOTING
There’senoughhappeninginPortNyanzaruthatyouwon’t
needtorelyonrandomencounterstokeepthingsinteresting.
Thatbeingsaid,iftheplayersseemrestless,usetherandom
encountersinappendixBtospicethingsupabitasthey’re
gatheringsuppliesfortheirexpedition.Atanytime,theparty
mightrunintoVolothampGeddarm(see“CityDenizens”).
Volo’sfamiliaritywithPortNyanzarumakeshimafontof
usefulinformation.Ifthepartydoesn’talreadyhavea
wildernessguide,headvisescharacterstosecureonebefore
theyenterthejungle.Volomightalsosuggestthatcharacters
partakeinthedinosaurraces(see“ThingstoDo”).
IfcharactersvisitWakangaO’tamu,hegivesthemthe
wizard’sjournalinhispossession.Ifthepartyhasnotyet
securedaguidebythetimetheymeetWakanga,hesuggests
thatthecharactersarrangeonethroughJobal.Volocan
facilitateanintroduction.Formoreinformationonguidesand
theirrates,see“FindingaGuide."
OldCity.......................................................................................................................................................................................
Threeancient,vine-coveredzigguratstowerabovethis
crumblingward.Thewholedistrictisajuxtapositionof
ancientanddecaying(butstilloccupied)stonestructures
interspersedwithflimsynewhutsandlonghousesofbamboo
andthatch.
TheOldCityisrunby“beggarprinces”inamocking
paralleltothemerchantprincesofthecityproper.Theyhave
noofficialauthority,buteachofthemsitsatopawebofdebts,
favors,incriminatinginformation,andloyalmusclethatallows
themtogetthingsdonewithanefficiencythatthemerchant
princessometimesenvy.Unlikethemerchantprinces,whose
positionsarebasedonwealththatpassesfromgenerationto
generationinthesamefamily,theidentitiesandeventhe
numberofthebeggarprinceschangescontinually.
TheOldCityisrundownbutitisn’taslumorahavenfor
thieves.Mostoftheresidentsarelower-classlaborersor
strugglingartisanswhocan’taffordthehigherrentsofhomes
insidethecitywalls.
1 .Beggars’Palaces
TheBeggars’PalacesarethetwolargestzigguratsoftheOld
City.Shopsandtenementsofbambooarejammedonto
theterracesofthezigguratsinwildprofusion.Theupper
levelsarecleanerandlesscrowdedthanthosenearstreet
level.Anarrowwoodenbridgeconnectstheupperlevels
abovethepressandnoiseofthestreet.
2 .Executioner’sRun
TheroadthroughtheOldCitysplitsaroundarectangular,
stone-linedpit 15 feetdeep, 50 feetwide,and 200 feetlong.
TheoriginalAmnianresidentsbuiltitasanarenaforahighly
competitiveballgame,anditstillprovidescheap
entertainmentforthelocals.Velociraptors(seeappendixD),
panthers,orotherhungrybeasts(ajuvenileallosaurusisa
guaranteedcrowdpleaser)aresetlooseinthepit,then
convictedcriminalsaredroppedinatoneend.Anycriminals
whomakeitalivethroughthegauntletofcarnivorestothefar
endofthepitcanscrambleupknottedropesandwintheir
freedom,alongwiththeadulationofthecrowd.Spectatorsline
thewallsforthesespectacles—includingrepresentatives
fromeverylevelofPortNyanzarusociety,notjustresidentsof
theOldCity.Betsareplacedonwhichcriminalswillsurvive,
whichwilldie,howfarrunnerswillgetbeforeabeastbrings
themdown,andhowmanykillseachanimalwillrackup.
AhandfulofChultanshavebecomecelebritiesby
survivingmultipledashesthroughExecutioner’sRun.It’sbeen
suggestedthatsomepeoplecontinuecommittingcrimessolely
becauseaconvictionistheonlywaytogettossedintothepit,
andbettingisalwaysheaviestonarepeatoffender.
Occasionallyananimalmanagestoleaporscrambleout
ofthepitandrunsamokthroughtheterrifiedcrowd.Moments
ofsuchhighperilprovideaperfectopportunityforbystanders
tobecomeheroesinthecityandearnfavorsfromthe
merchantprinces.3 .RefusePit
Anenormoussinkholeservesasthecity’sgarbagedump.
Everytypeofrefusegetstossedhere,uptoandincludingdead
bodies.It’safesteringscarofgarbage,rancidwater,and
vermin.Rats,insects,andravensabound.Ghoulsare
sometimesseenprowlingthroughthepitinsearchoffresh
corpses.
Althoughthelevelofrefuseinthepitrisesandfalls,the
pitnevergetsfull.Thisisthankstoanunknownnumberof
otyughslivingatthebottomandeatingtheirfilldaily.They’re
contenttoremaininthebountifulpit,butthey’dquickly
pounceonanyonecarelessorunluckyenoughtosliponthe
greasyedgeandfallin.Merchants’Ward.......................................................................................................................................................................
ThewesternhalfofthecityiscalledtheMerchants’Ward
becauseit’sthesiteoftheGrandSoukandbecausemanyof
themerchantprinces’villasarethere.Ingeneral,thisisthe
upper-classsectionofthecity.Themajorityofthecity’s
merchantsandtradersactuallyliveandworkintheMarket
Ward.4 .Goldenthrone
Thispalaceservesasthemeetingplaceforthemerchant
princesofPortNyanzaruandisrecognizedastheseatofthe
city’sloosegovernment.ItwasbuiltdecadesagobyanAmnian
traderandisoneofthemostopulentstructuresinthecity,
rivaledonlybythegrandertemplesandthemerchantprinces’
villas.AnhonorguardofeightChultangladiatorsisalwayson
duty,tokeepawayloiterersinthedaytimeandthievesinthe
night.
Goldenthroneisthebestplacetomeetanyofthemerchant
princeswithoutanappointment.Theyrarelymeetwith
visitorswhoshowupunannouncedattheirhomes.Duringthe
day,eachmerchantprincehasa 1 - in- 6 chancetobeat
Goldenthrone,accompaniedbyaretinueofaidesandguards.
Charactersmustwait 1 d 3 hoursbeforebeinggivenan
audience.Infact,themerchantprinceshavefewday-to-day
responsibilitieswhenitcomestorunningPortNyanzaru,so
unlessameetingisbeingheldtodiscusscitybusiness,the
delayisjustatactictounderscorewho’sincharge.Ifthe
charactershaveinterestingnews,they’relikelytoobtainan
audienceandtobegivenasmuchofthemerchant’stimeas
theyneed.5 .MerchantPrince’sVilla
Eachmerchantprincehasaprivatevillainthecity.These
residenceshavebeautifullyplasteredwallsadornedwith