Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide PDF

90 Chapter 2: Gazetteer of tal’Dorei

Crime

Hundreds of tunnels run beneath Emon, the forgotten

remnants of paved-over neighborhoods and secret pas-

sageways made by thieves’ guilds during the reign of

Drassig. These tunnels are now home to the Clasp’s secret

headquarters, where all manner of thieves, killers, fences,

and spies are gathered underneath their banner. The Clasp

and its leaders are detailed on pg. 34.

Some petty criminals look up to the Clasp, committing

ambitious crimes in hopes of gaining the Spirelings’ atten-

tion. Though politicians and commoners alike are grateful

to the Clasp for their role in rebuilding their city, this

unsavory “auditioning” has once again soured their reputa-

tion among the city watch.

Geo Graphy anD Climate

Emon is not a tourist destination for its climate—the city

is more temperate and prone to rain showers than most—

but those who call it home swear they wouldn’t trade their

rain for all the sun in Kymal. The city is blessed with cool

summers and warm winters, thanks to its proximity to

the cool Ozmit Sea. Though snow rarely falls on the city

itself, it relies on springtime snowmelt from the Cliff keep

Mountains to fill its reservoirs throughout the year. Emon

is, in almost all senses, a city fated by water; were there

anyone powerful enough to starve its farms and reservoirs,

the city would be theirs.

abDar’s proMenaDe

Abdar’s Promenade is the open marketplace district and

massive bazaar that dominates eastern Emon. Named for

the legendary spicemonger from Marquet who helped

fund the construction of Emon, the name of Abdar is

synonymous with both generosity and business savvy.

Within the tents, carts, warehouses, and shops that

stretch for miles of intertwining roads, nearly everything

and anything you seek can be purchased, with the darker

pursuits leading to Clasp-run rackets that work beyond

the reach of the law. The Promenade is ever a whirlwind

of commerce and excess, with a vigilant patrol by the city

watch. Its most renowned establishments include the four-

story Laughing Lamia Inn, the metalworker’s paradise

called the Anvilgate, and the emporium of mystical riches

known as Gilmore’s Glorious Goods.

the centr al District

The Central District is the largest residential district

within Emon’s walls, housing most of the city’s merchant

class, including traveling traders, ship captains, and guild

apprentices. The district is a patchwork of thousands of

personal homes, tenements, and guildhalls of all shapes

and sizes, peppered with small taverns and inns on nearly

every street corner.

These neighborhoods lay clustered together among

tightly set streets, occasionally broken up by park grasses

or the Ozmit Waterways that snake through the region

between the promenade and the port. Visitors to the

Central District are advised not to go out at night; the

wide disparity of wealth from home to home here has seen

crime rise recently, and the city watch seems reluctant to

find a constructive solution. Residents who know the lay

of the land have an easier time at night and can help visi-

tors avoid the most dangerous streets.

the cloUDtop District

The Cloudtop District once stood as the height of luxury

and throne of the social elite, containing the Palace of the

Sovereign alongside the mansions of the various lords and

ladies of the city. An elevated port to arcane levitating

skyships called the Skyport platform—first port of its kind—

stands atop the Skyport tower. This symbol of advanced

magical technology is buttressed against a 100-foot-high wall

of shining white stone that encircles the district, a second line

of siege defense for the political leaders of Emon.

When the Chroma Conclave attacked the city, the

dragons focused their ire on the Cloudtop, flying over

the protective walls and leveling many of the ostentatious

homesteads, as well as collapsing the palace itself. Thor-

dak took the ruins here as his den, his presence bringing

volcanic change to the earth throughout the inner walls.

After Thordak’s defeat, the fires died down and grounds

of the district are being reclaimed. Reconstruction of the

palace is underway, and Council matters are currently

held within the Citrine Garrison, the hub of all large mil-

itary planning and action within the city.

the teMple District

The Temple District rests in the northern area of Emon,

a ward that fosters many great sanctuaries built to uphold

the worship of the city’s many dominant religions. Cathe-

drals to the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon stand

at apex among smaller temples to the Dawnfather, the

Stormlord, the Wildmother, and the Matron of Ravens.

Many poorer folk come here seeking shelter, while the

pious offer their services and energy to upholding the

tenets of their chosen deity.

Travelers and sailors come to leave tokens and gifts at

shrines to bless their journeys, while merchants seek the

graces of the Changebringer before a risky endeavor. The

meek search for wisdom in the great halls of the Knowing

Mistress as the artists and wistful folk give praise to the

Archeart. Not all folk are drawn toward nor trusting of

religion, however, and temples past have been exposed as

frauds, or worse, corrupting cells hidden in the service of

darker gods.

the erUDite qUarter

The Erudite Quarter acts as the center for higher educa-

tion and studious pursuits through not just the city, but

the realm of all Tal’Dorei. Beautiful towers stretch to the

sky across a cityscape of centuries-old halls of learning

and student boarding houses. Here, the finest schools

and colleges draw the wealthy, the gifted, and the bril-

liant. Academies of the arts socially duel with universities

of intellectual pursuits, all while overshadowed by the

Alabaster Lyceum, the largest and most accomplished

institute of arcane study on the continent.