Flotsam (Large Town): Nonstandard; AL CN; 3,000 stl limit; Assets 567,750 stl; Population 3,785; Mixed (66% human, 10% gnomes, 6% kender, 4% gully dwarves, 3% half-elves, 2% dwarves, 2% elves, 2% half-ogres, 5% other).
A map of Flotsam. It's as accurate as current [in world] map-making could make it.
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/k...0a-bbf6-5a04933fe7ea
Authority Figures
* Lord Toede (LE male hobgoblin), Governor in Perpetuity and ruler of Flotsam. Despite being frequently away from town, he retains a firm grip on his town. He lives in his mansion.
* Mayor Aylesworthy (LN human female), leader of the City Council. She works too hard in City Hall dealing with town business.
* Zand Zinar (LN human male), Cleric of Shinare. A member of the City Council. He comes from a merchant family from Palanthus. Less than a year ago he built the Shrine to Shinare that quickly became the most visited temple in town.
* Vixen (NG half elf) is both a member of the City Council and the leader of the Thieves Guild. She holds court in the Brown Pelican, a former boardinghouse and shelter from dragon attacks.
History
In the Cataclysm, Istar and other cities were destroyed and a new sea, The Blood Sea, was created. Flotsam was founded on the shore of that sea and some claim that it was built with the leftover city pieces that the sea didn't claim for itself. So an eclectic mix of architectures can be found here. Some may call it bizarre. And others might say that the buildings crawled up out of the water and onto dry land. A city perpetually on the verge of collapsing back from whence it came.
Flotsam was built at the bottom of a vale of rolling hills located between Balifor, now part of the Desolation, to the south and the ogre lands of Kern to the north. It has expanded in a horseshoe shape around the Blood Bay where the eastern peninsula has been nicknamed The Rock.
Both the city itself and many of its buildings bear the scars from repeated dragon attacks by Membakar the Red. But fortunately, she is dead now, her volcano lair has been destroyed, and new construction is returning a sense of vibrancy to the best city in the world. The stones of the town's once paved streets have been pried up to speed things along.
During the War of the Lance, the Black Dragonarmy built a tall city wall, which was destroyed by Membakar, and rebuilt during the recent minotaur occupation. The minotaurs also rebuilt the sewer system, but the populace has become used to spending their evenings in inns and taverns.
Years ago, the Silver Fox formed the Thieves Guild and this relatively recent addition to the city has elevated their burglars to a higher class of thievery as they are a remarkably honorable organization of rogues, mercenaries, privateers, scoundrels, ladies of ill repute, and more than a few kender. Instead of conducting the skullduggery of more common thieves' guilds, the noble Thieves Guild of Flotsam functions as an unofficial constabulary, scouts, escorts, that make sure that thieves don't steal the goods so desperately needed by the townsfolk, and tax collectors. His daughter Vixen is now both their leader and a member of the city council.
The area outside town are mostly fallow fields, marsh, and scrubland. Most farms and paddocks have been abandoned, though reclamation efforts have begun. In wintertime, a thin layer of snow covers everything.
There's a community of gnomes about a mile from town, they have been welcomed by Lord Toede himself both for their marvelous inventions and for their help in ridding the city of the minotaur pirates that had tried to take it away from him. And the ruined elven village of Micah is about 25 miles away.
Piracy is still a common occurrence in nearby waters and many and disparate wares come to the city by sea. Enough of it legitimate that one cannot make the assumption that they have been acquired by extralegal means.
There are a lot of travelers and outcasts in Flotsam. What someone looks like rarely causes long time interest. Some have said that as the trash of Istar wound up here, so does the trash of everywhere else. But the sentiment that Flotsam is the best city in the world is gaining support.
Locations
The numbers are taken from the map.
1. Town Gates. The three town gates are permanently under guard and flanked by guard towers.
2. Guard towers. The guard towers are about 30 feet tall. And while the guards at the gates have no choice but to take their job seriously, guards at the other towers may have differing levels of work ethic. It’s not like anyone has ever taken the city from them…. Wait a minute.
2b. City Wall. The meandering city wall is about 20 feet tall and more than three miles long
3. Marketplace: Flotsam’s market district cover two triangular blocks (the indicated one and the one to the southeast of it), portions of which are on the waterfront. And more traffic is seen here than anywhere else, not counting the seedier parts of the city. And with all this traffic, it’s a prime location for pickpockets. There are many stores and a square with covered wagons and hastily erected stalls. It’s a picturesque place. At the square, local fishermen and farmers, as well as visiting merchants shout out their wares. They are open until dusk.
Aranna the Alchemist is a female thinker gnome Cleric of Shinare who specializes in alchemical concoctions, potions, and elixirs. She can make any fluid magical item, but uncommon ones have to be special ordered. This takes three days and have twice the SRD cost.
Geon & Loren’s Mystical Goods. Geon is a male human sorcerer and Loren is a female half-elf wizard of the White Robes. They sell magical items.
The Golden Veil: Qanttell is a beautiful female silvanesti elf tailor. Her store is the epitome of haute couture in Flotsam.
Gray’s Knick-Knacks. The draconian with gray scales everyone calls Gray sell a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And you never know what you can find there.
Maliak the Shy. An old beggar on indeterminable race who sits in a small alleyway and watches the market square all the time. He never asks for money, nor does he bother anyone, yet nothing happens there that he doesn’t know. And for a donation, he is an excellent source of information. He is under the protection of the Thieves’ Guild.
Shale’s Arms and Armor. Shale is a mountain dwarf blacksmith with a small forge near the docks. He sells any non-exotic and non-magical armor and weapons. Masterwork items cost twice the SRD prices. He can repair anything he sells and more. He can be hired to craft any of the above items, but distinctive armors, such as those worn by the Knights of Solamnia or Knights of Takhisis are sold for three times the SRD cost.
5. Lord Toede’s Manor. The three floor manor is large and well guarded. Getting an audience is a very difficult and time consuming process as a team of clerks put you through several “interviewes.” Expert gardeners and landscapers care for his exotic trees, shrubs, and other plants. The groundskeeper is also the kennel keeper and responsible for Lord Toede’s “puppies.”
4. The Wharves: The deep-water harbor of Flotsam makes the city a popular destination, tempered by the risks of the Maelstrom, marauding pirates, and minotaur patrols. It caters to ships, their crews, and their cargo. And most importantly, to the payment of taxes for bringing said cargo to market in the best city in the world.
Its gambling dens, taverns, and houses of ill repute see more traffic than anywhere else in town. Unlike most of the city, the docks never truly close down. The music, partying, and fighting continue until the wee hours of the morning. The Thieves’ Guild is a constant presence as they make sure that no one touches the cargo.
Despite these less savory establishments, this is the heart of the Flotsam. As this is where the city was born. As the city grew, so did the docks. Older piers stand in stark contrast to the newer ones and the newer warehouses.
6. The Saltbreeze Inn. A clean and relatively well-to-do establishment.
7. The Beacon: Flotsam’s lighthouse. Ars Basalt lives and work here. A long, low wall, known as the Breakwater that extend far into the bay and ends in a working lighthouse where Ars Basalt live and work.
8. City Hall: Formerly the barracks of the dragon armies during the War of the Lance, they now serve as City Hall. Mayor Aylesworthy runs the City Council and oversees the needs of the citizens on a daily basis.
9. The prison. You don’t want to go here.
10. The Jetties. An inn with a nautical theme. The largest and best maintained inn in Flotsam. No inn is located closer to the Southwest Gate, where most people enter and leave the city. It is a thriving establishment, well known throughout the region for the softest beds, the cleanest rooms, and the best ales. If you can afford it (+10% to SRD prices). It looks like it has been constructed by several smaller houses. Bridget Stubbletoes, an afflicted kender, that has worked in the inn for years as both cook and maid, has taken over the inn after the previous owner retired. Both the inn and Bridget are under the protection of the Thieves’ Guild.
11. Ruined Quarter. The area north of 11 and west of “Main Street” going south from the North Gate has suffered the most in the repeated dragon attacks. And it has been left alone until more important restoration projects have been finished. Residents have long since found other places to live. The only buildings of note in this area was the Temple of Mishakal and a long since looted magic shop.
11b. The Brown Pelican Inn. Located near the intersection of west-east road closest to 11 and “Main Street” south from the North Gate. A large, three story stone building that used to be an inn, but that now is the headquarters of the Thieves’ Guild. Vixen will be here most of the time. New recruits are trained in all the skills they might need. There is a hidden passage in the basement to a cavern that once was a smuggler’s den, but more recently has been a safe place to hide when Membakar attacked. And now that she’s gone, many hope that its days as a sanctuary are over.
11c. Shrine to Shinare. Located at the end of the road going south from the west-east road closest to 11 and then curving west. A small and fairly new building with no sign of the devastation shown in the rest of the city. It is surrounded by tall amber-hued, sandstone walls not native to the area. The tall, vaulted roof is covered with golden slate tiles. The large iron door is imprinted with a griffon’s wing encircled by symbols of prosperity, with statues of a woman holding a set of scales on either side of the doorway.
It was commissioned by Zand Zinar and completed less than a year ago. The Shrine to Shinare has become the most visited temple in town. It is not only a temple, but also a moneylender and an accountant. Healing, magical assistance, and financial transactions can all be found within the temple.
Fjona Goldstone (female Daewar dwarf) and second in command of the Temple meets with anyone of genuine faith and a desire to become a cleric and provides them a Medallion of Faith for whatever god or goddess they choose to serve.
* The Sewers: They are filthy, but still they have attracted both thieves and smugglers. As well as various monsters. The pipes beneath the wharves have been modified so that a determined mariner can use them to enter the city while bypassing every official checkpoint.
* The Rock: The easternmost and most exclusive part of the city. A single, well-tended road connects the peninsula to the rest of the city. Few buildings are located here, but they include Lord Toede’s manor, the treasury, and the Saltbreeze Inn
* Temples and Shrines: Most temples/shrines are small and only staffed by a single low-ranking cleric. The temple to Shinare is listed above and has approximately ten clerics. Zeboim has about five clerics and their shrine is located on the docks. Hiddukel, Kiri-Jolith, Mishakal, and Takhisis have two each.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:03, Sat 29 Apr 2023.