Stormhaven: City of Adventure



Stormhaven is a large port city that is a crossroads for many different cultures and peoples. This city-state was once a vassal of a mighty empire, but troubles within that far-flung realm have given the city great autonomy with little outside interference for many years.

A Lord Mayor rules over the city and beneath him are several petty noble lords with varying degree of political influence. There is also a city council, consisting of elected officials that represent the various guilds and city districts. The city council has considerable influence in the city and the Lord Mayor can ill afford to make any move without securing majority consent of the council. The various temples also play dominantly in the daily life of the city, creating a volatile political landscape that is ripe with intrigue and scheming.

All humanoid races may be found within the city, though the majority of its denizens are humans. Sure, there are dwarves, elves, gnomes, halfling, etc. as one would expect in a typical fantasy city; however other creatures are seen from time to time as well. It is not unthinkable to walk into a tavern and see a half-ogre sharing a table with a dwarf. It turns out both have a healthy appreciation of ale!

Stormhaven is the nexus for all goods coming out of the Hinterlands as well as a convenient jumping off-point for expeditions to the Wilderlands, or even to the Empires of the Shifting Sands. However, one does not need to travel outside the city to find adventure.

Thieves and cutthroats roam the streets at night looking for their latest score. Rival sorcerors plot their enemies' demise, sometimes dragging innocents into the chaos that ensues. Evil cultists hatch dark plots in hidden cabals all throughout the city. Monstrous beasts lurk in the sewers that snake beneath the city. Forgotten crypts contain untold treasures. Labyrinthine ruins are occasionally unearthed deep beneath the city, once home to ancient cultures from an era that even the most learned sages know very little of.

There is never a shortage of adventuring opportunities to be found within the city; rather, the trouble is finding brave souls willing to risk life and limb to lay claim to fortune and glory!



Stormhaven's Wards
Stormhaven is sub-divided into 13 wards, each having their own representative on the City Council. In addition, there is a large park, Godswalk, located in the city's northwest corner. The elder of the local druid circle, The High Warden, acts as its  representative.

The Bazaar: Large central market ward. Aside from the maze-like bazaar, this is also where the city's wealthiest temples are located.

Council Halls: Central administrative ward where City Hall and other offices are located.

Eastgate: A bustling gate ward.

The Foundry: Ward where most of the city's odoriferous businesses (tanneries, butchers, smiths, dyers, etc.) are congregated along either side of the Elsir River, just outside Northgate.

The Glades: Not a true "ward", but rather a sprawling shanty town that has sprung up along the few patches of dry land in the city's western outskirts. Sometimes referred to as Low-Town.

Godswalk Park: Large park in northwest part of city. Royal gardens are kept here in addition to a sacred copse of woods maintained by the local druid circle, The Keepers of the Wood.

Guildkeep: Wealthy merchant quarter dominated by many guildhalls.

The Narrows: Seedy slum ward located in lower east portion of the city.

Newhaven: This crafts ward occupies the western half of the city.

Northgate: Busy gate ward dominated by canals moving trade goods up and down the Elsir River.

Oldhaven: This dense craftsman ward occupies the eastern half of the city and contains some of the city's oldest structures.

Ravenskeep: This large cemetery is located just east of the city walls and is filled with numerous ancestral tombs, mausoleums, crypts and graves.

Seaside: Dock ward that spans the length of the city.

Storm Heights: Wealthy ward where Stormhaven's movers and shakers dwell. Stormhaven keep is located here as well.

Witchlight: A sprawling gate ward named for its proximity to the Witchlight Marsh.



Beyond the City

The Dread Isles: A chain of tropical islands inhabited by savage cannibals and all manner of strange beasts.

The Empires of the Shifting Sands: Across the Straits lies an expansive desert continent where powerful sultans rule from golden minarets and formidable ziggurats.

The Frostfell: An cheerless, icy domain rumored to be inhabited by mighty giants and terrible wyrms locked in eternal battle.

The Hinterlands: A broad River Valley north of The City. Several small towns line the river and many trade goods move up and down this vital artery.

The Northern Kingdoms: North of the Hinterlands, lies numerous kingdoms that occasionally launch sea-borne raiding campaigns aboard their dragon-prow longboats, hoping to gain plunder from undefended coastal southern lands.

The Old Kingdoms: These fiefdoms contain the last remnants of the many vassal states of the Old Empire. These lands were once great centers of culture and learning, but most have fallen to in-fighting and strife.

The Wilderlands: This shattered realm of grassland and steppe lies well to the east of Stormhaven and is now home mostly to nomadic tribes and wandering beasts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:06, Sun 22 May 2016.

This list is for the benefit of players unfamiliar with the core 4e D&D pantheon, which will be used in this game. Other deities exist as well, but these are the major deities of the Known World.

Good and Unaligned Deities

Avandra (Good)
The god of change, Avandra delights in freedom, trade, travel, adventure, and the frontier. Her temples are few in civilized lands, but her wayside shrines appear throughout the world. Halflings, merchants, and all types of adventurers are drawn to her worship, and many people raise a glass in her honor, viewing her as the god of luck. Her commandments are few:
✦ Luck favors the bold. Take your fate into your own hands, and Avandra smiles upon you.
✦ Strike back against those who would rob you of your freedom and urge others to fight for their own liberty.
✦ Change is inevitable, but it takes the work of the faithful to ensure that change is for the better.
Favored Weapon: Dagger

Bahamut (Lawful Good)
Called the Platinum Dragon, Bahamut is the god of justice, protection, nobility, and honor. Lawful good paladins often revere him, and metallic dragons worship him as the first of their kind. Monarchs are crowned in his name. He commands his followers thus:
✦ Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.
✦ Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.
✦ Protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order.
Favored Weapon: Flail

Corellon (Unaligned)
The god of spring, beauty, and the arts, Corellon is the patron of arcane magic and the fey. He seeded the world with arcane magic and planted the most ancient forests. Artists and musicians worship him, as do those who view their spellcasting as an art, and his shrines can be found throughout the Feywild. He despises Lolth and her priestesses for leading the drow astray. He urges his followers thus:
✦ Cultivate beauty in all that you do, whether you’re casting a spell, composing a saga, strumming a lute, or practicing the arts of war.
✦ Seek out lost magic items, forgotten rituals, and ancient works of art. Corellon might have inspired them in the world’s first days.
✦ Thwart the followers of Lolth at every opportunity.
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Erathis (Unaligned)
Erathis is the god of civilization. She is the muse of great invention, founder of cities, and author of laws. Rulers, judges, pioneers, and devoted citizens revere her, and her temples hold prominent places in most of the world’s major cities. Her laws are many, but their purpose is straightforward:
✦ Work with others to achieve your goals. Community and order are always stronger than the disjointed efforts of lone individuals.
✦ Tame the wilderness to make it fit for habitation, and defend the light of civilization against the encroaching darkness.
✦ Seek out new ideas, new inventions, new lands to inhabit, new wilderness to conquer. Build machines, build cities, build empires.
Favored Weapon: Battle axe

Ioun (Unaligned)
Ioun is the god of knowledge, skill, and prophecy. Sages, seers, and tacticians revere her, as do all who live by their knowledge and mental power. Corellon is the patron of arcane magic, but Ioun is the patron of its study. Libraries and wizard academies are built in her name. Her commands are also teachings:
✦ Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception, and emotion into balance with one another.
✦ Accumulate, preserve, and distribute knowledge in all forms. Pursue education, build libraries, and seek out lost and ancient lore.
✦ Be watchful at all times for the followers of Vecna, who seek to control knowledge and keep secrets. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light of truth and reason.
Favored Weapon: Staff

Kord (Unaligned)
Kord is the storm god and the lord of battle. He revels in strength, battlefield prowess, and hunder. Fighters and athletes revere him. He is a mercurial god, unbridled and wild, who summons storms over land and sea; those who hope for better weather appease him with prayers and spirited toasts. He gives few commands:
✦ Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction.
✦ Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form.
✦ Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown.
Favored Weapon: Greatsword

Melora (Unaligned)
Melora is the god of the wilderness and the sea. She is both the wild beast and the peaceful forest, the raging whirlpool and the quiet desert. Rangers, hunters, and elves revere her, and sailors make offerings to her before beginning their voyages. Her strictures are these:
✦ Protect the wild places of the world from destruction and overuse. Oppose the rampant spread of cities and empires.
✦ Hunt aberrant monsters and other abominations of nature.
✦ Do not fear or condemn the savagery of nature. Live in harmony with the wild.
Favored Weapon: Scimitar

Moradin (Lawful Good)
Moradin is the god of creation and patron of artisans, especially miners and smiths. He carved the mountains from primordial earth and is the guardian and protector of the hearth and the family. Dwarves from all walks of life follow him. He demands these behaviors of his followers:
✦ Meet adversity with stoicism and tenacity.
✦ Demonstrate loyalty to your family, your clan, your leaders, and your people.
✦ Strive to make a mark on the world, a lasting legacy. To make something that lasts is the highest good, whether you are a smith working at a forge or a ruler building a dynasty.
Favored Weapon: Warhammer

Pelor (Good)
God of the sun and summer, Pelor is the keeper of time. He supports those in need and opposes all that is evil. As the lord of agriculture and the bountiful harvest, he is the deity most commonly worshiped by ordinary humans, and his priests are well received wherever they go. Paladins and rangers are found among his worshipers. He directs his followers thus:
✦ Alleviate suffering wherever you find it.
✦ Bring Pelor’s light into places of darkness, showing kindness, mercy, and compassion.
✦ Be watchful against evil.
Favored Weapon: Mace

The Raven Queen (Unaligned)
The name of the god of death is long forgotten, but she is called the Raven Queen. She is the spinner of fate and the patron of winter. She marks the end of each mortal life, and mourners call upon her during funeral rites, in the hope that she will guard the departed from the curse of undeath. She expects her followers to abide by these commandments:
✦ Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is the natural end of life.
✦ Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. As the instrument of the Raven Queen, you must punish hubris where you find it.
✦ Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. The Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to claim the Raven Queen’s throne.
Favored Weapon: Bastard sword

Sehanine (Unaligned)
God of the moon and autumn, Sehanine is the patron of trickery and illusions. She has close ties to Corellon and Melora and is a favorite deity among elves and halflings. She is also the god of love, who sends shadows to cloak lovers’ trysts. Scouts and thieves ask for her blessing on their work. Her teachings are simple:
✦ Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.
✦ Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of evil.
✦ Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.
Favored Weapon: Longbow

Evil Deities
Your character can worship an evil deity without being of the same alignment, but that’s walking a fine line. The commandments of these deities exhort their followers to pursue evil ends or commit destructive deeds.

Asmodeus is the evil god of the Nine Hells. He is patron of the powerful, god of tyranny and domination,and the commander of devils. Favored Weapon: Mace

Bane is the evil god of war and conquest. Militaristic nations of humans and goblins serve him and conquer in his name. Favored Weapon: Morningstar

Gruumsh is the chaotic evil god of destruction, lord of marauding barbarian hordes. Where Bane commands conquest, Gruumsh exhorts his followers to slaughter and pillage. Orcs are his most fervent followers. Favored Weapon: Spear

Lolth is the chaotic evil god of shadow, lies, and spiders. Scheming and treachery are her commands, and her clerics are a constant force of disruption in the otherwise stable society of the evil drow. Favored Weapon: Dagger

Tiamat is the evil god of wealth, greed, and envy. She urges her followers to take vengeance for every slight, and she is the patron of chromatic dragons. Favored Weapon: Heavy Pick

Torog is the evil god of the Underdark, patron of jailers and torturers. Common superstition holds that if his name is spoken, the King that Crawls will burrow up from below and drag the hapless speaker underground to an eternity of imprisonment and torture. Favored Weapon: Spiked Chain

Vecna is the evil god of undead, necromancy, and secrets. He rules that which is not meant to be known and that which people wish to keep secret. Favored Weapon: Dagger

Zehir is the evil god of darkness, poison, and assassins. Snakes are his favored creation, and the yuan-ti revere him above all other gods. Favored Weapon: Dagger

Old Imperial Aristocracy

Thyrandas Family: Ruled by the Lord Mayor Eradan Thyrandas III, the Thyrandas family claims the closest blood-line to the Old Empire and rules from behind the walls of Stormhaven Keep, seated on a defensible hill overlooking the city. The Thyrandas blood-line has popular support of most of Stormhaven's populace and Lord Thyrandas is widely viewed as a just ruler.
Heraldic Device: A golden hippogriff against a crimson field.

Ehridol Family: Ruled by Lady Allisa Ehridol , the Ehridol family rules from a sea-side citadel and holds great sway over the Merchant's Guild through their strong affiliation in the Mariner's Guild.
Heraldic Device: A seven-pointed star on an indigo field.

Talas Family: Ruled by Lord Harvan Talas , the Talas family was considered petty nobility in the Old Empire but has amassed great wealth through various ventures, and are regarded as shrewd, if not cutt-throat in their business dealings.
Heraldic Device: A green serpent coiled around sword against a jet black field.

The Guilds and Other Organizations
Crafts Guilds: Guildmaster Tomas Trumbul (Human)

Merchants Guild: Guildmaster Maxian Creum (Human). Symbol: Mighty tower rising out of two interlocked gold coins.

Wizards Guild: Azuth the Red (human)

Mercenaries Guild: Guildmaster Ormand Giant-Foe (Half-orc)

Thieves Guild : House of the Black Hoods. Guildmaster Finneous Dray (human)

The Wharf Rats: Street gang operating out of Dockside.

The Town Council

Each city ward has an elected Councilor to represent their interests to the Lord Mayor. Citizens, those adults who have lived in the city for at least one year and who pay annual taxes, elect a Councilor to serve a three-year term.

The Clergy

Temple of Erathis: Patron God of the City. High Priestess Aldanna Fairhand  (human) presides over The Golden Hall, the most lavish and opulent temple in all of Stormhaven.

Temple of Pelor: High Priest Harvan Lightbringer (human)

Temple of Bahamut: High Priestess Corinne Truesilver (human)

Temple of Melora: Worshipped mainly for her sea aspect. High Priestes Ulaa Elliastrae (half-elf)

Temple of Kord: High Priest Tyrran Strongheart (human)

Shrine of Moradin: High Priest Olwydd Kildrek the Great Beard (dwarf)

The Diplomatic Enclaves

Empire of the Shining Sands: The Sultanate's nephew, Prince Ahziz El-Arat, holds a diplomatic estate in Stormhaven.
Heraldic Device: White saber on an emerald green field.

Mountainhome Enclave: A dwarven enclave representing the mining interests of the Mountainhome Clan of dwarves dwelling in the nearby Thunderspire Mountains. Nolo Shalestone holds a sizable diplomatic estate in Stormhaven. Within the Mountainhome Enclave, a sizable Mordainian Shrine exists, The Mountainhome Shrine, presided over by Olwydd Kildrek , a taciturn dwarf priest with what might be the most impressive beard within all of Stormhaven.

Nerathi Enclave: Lord Beld Robilar is a diplomatic representative of one of the last surviving factions of the Old Empire, Nerath.

Miscellaneous Information

A "ducal" is a gold piece, a "shekel" is a silver piece, and a "binter" is a copper piece.

Random Campaign Notes jotted down after they come into play...

Beltza Atarabi: Lost goddess of the Ekaitz people.

Cavalrix's Keep A ruined keep located in the Forlorn Hills, about 5 miles west of Windham. Once home to Cavalrix the Arch-Mage, but the keep was destroyed by a Duergar army, led by a Dark Elf Sorcerer. Goblins, orcs, Dread Ogres, Giants, and even demons have occupied this keep over the years, most recently a demon called The Horned One.

Demonstone A dome-shaped rocky hill located in the Forlorn Hills. The Greenscale Lizard-folk used this land as nesting grounds but were recently forced out when manticores moved in. Beneath Demonstone is a portal to the Darkness Below, where an abandoned Duergar citadel can be found. A dracolisk has been spotted lurking in these abandoned halls.

Ekaitz: Ancient coastal people of the Stormhaven region.

Fairford: Small farming village just north of Stormhaven.

Forlorn Hills: A rough stretch of dangerous foothills framing the northern extent of the Witchlight Marsh and gradually rising to meet the distant Thunderpeak Mountains.

Glades: A small village located in the Witchlight Marsh, just outside of Stormhaven.

Godswalk Park: A large park within Stormhaven, named for its proximity to the city's large, influential temples, all of which are congregated along the park's east side. The northwest section of the park has been allowed to grow wild on behest of the local druids.

Longshadows Tower: A vacant tower within Stormhaven formerly occupied by a vampire, which turned out to be Lord Myron himself. The tower belongs to House Talas, but has stood "vacant" for many years, occupied by the vampire's minions and a kind spirit trapped within a portrait, Madame Drucilla.

Myron's Keep: A seaside keep located about 7 miles west of Stormhaven, occupied by Lord Myron, a Stormhavian nobleman.

The Narrows: a dangerous, ramshackle district of Stormhaven.

Nerath: Name of the Old Empire to the east.

Newstead: A small farming village between Windham and Salt Flats.

Nine Vagabond Taphouse "Nine V": a dive tavern of some degree of ill repute located in the Glades. The tavern sign is an upright black cask set before two sheafs of wheat. Nine gold coins encircle the cask.

Order of the Invincible Sun: A paramilitary organization devoted to defeating extraplanar threats e.g., abberations, demons, devils and devils. Its members are mostly comprised of devotees of good-aligned deities, especially Pelor, Bahamut, Correlon and Melora.

River Rats: a notorious gang of ragamuffins that prowl the hard-scrabble Narrows district.

Royal Madrash of Al Alayai Herat, the City of Infinite Towers: School where Saliiq studied.

Rush Hollow: A small village west of Stormhaven, a few miles north of an ancient ziggurat.

Rusted Nail: a tavern in the Seaside ward.

Salt Flats: A small village located 10 miles north of Stormhaven. Named the numerous salt mines which are found in the area.

Stalwart Ox: Inn located in the Witchlight ward owned by a hulking man named Moffutt.

Stormhavian: name of someone from Stormhaven

Stormhaven University: The university that Stomrhaven upper social classes send their kids to. It generates the majority of its income from sponsoring archaeological expeditions to far-flung realms and even within the city itself.

Storm Sentinels: Stormhaven Elite Guard

Storm Watch: Stormhaven Watch

Thunderpeak Mountains: Large mountain range to the west of Stormhaven. The Mountainhome dwarf clans come from here.

Wardens of the Wood: Small local druid sect devoted to protecting a sacred copse of trees within Godswalk Park.

Weaver's District: a small section of Stormhaven located in the western part of the city (The Foundry Ward), named for its concentration of fullers, weavers, and tanners.

Weeping Grotto: an underground cavern below West Stormhaven, accessible via a sewer grate near Old Man Hatch's Tannery

Willowbrook: A swampy village located about 7 miles north of Stormhaven.

Windham Small village about 20 miles north of Stormhaven, along the Elsir River. Ruled by Lord Kazmerak, a nervous ruler desperately clinging to what independence he can muster. Distrustful of Stormhavian meddling. The Fat Falconer Inn is only such establishment in this village. Lord Kazmerak's herald is named Miglaf.

Witchlight Marsh: Expansive Marshlands located west of Stormhaven. Populated by territorial lizardmen and opportunistic bullywugs, among others.

Witchlight Wall: An outer Stormhaven Wall overlooking the Witchlight Marsh

Wizards Guild:

The Rusty Nail: an old but sturdy inn and tavern near the intersection of the Bazaar, Seaside, and the Narrows.  An early hangout of the party as it inexpensive.

Rose & Cricket aka The Cantrip: Fine Tavern

Derien, Doorwarden of the Wizards Guild, of undetermined age, seems to always be on duty.

Krate, Bartender

Calindra, head waitress at the Cantrip

Rose - Flirty, fun but tough waitress at the Rusty Nail.  Seems to have taken an interest in Rath.

Seneschal Ingelbern - First of Lord Thyrandas, and ofttimes go between when LT3 needs heroes to help in some mission.

Darius "Chip", Erwyn Thyss, Lisban-  Three young students at the Wizards Guild, have an interest in mushroom hunting in their spare time.

Forman Dreadi - Dwarf in charge of renovations to the Tower.

Annabel Wright - Only daughter of Rennay Wright, a craftsman of fine furniture, has a pet albino squirrel named Afred (Alfie).

Madame Averi Martuch - Patron of the arts, wealthy but kind, lost her seafaring husband many years ago and has a lovely home in Storm Heights.

Gorblin Thar -  Proprietor of the Hogs Head Tavern in the Narrows, thick, rough and bristled like a hog himself.

Al'hara -  Ben saved her from turning into a ghoul, rescued her daughter later though he never knew it.

Vanya - a northman like Folke, although from another of the kingdoms.  The two met while Vanya was acting as a sellsword in Stormhaven.  Vanya is your stereotypical big, bruising Viking type, with reddish-gold hair, a barrel chest and biceps the size of regular people's legs.  Favours sword and broadaxe.

Dahl - a nomad from the Wilderlands far to the east.  Swarthy, with dark hair and a compact powerful build, he is a grasslands ranger who fell afoul of tribal politics in his homeland and was forced to flee westward.  Has a broad smile with one missing tooth, an odd sense of humour, and two horizontal ceremonial scars on each cheek, just below his eyes.  Favoured the bow and scimitar.  Presumed dead, his scimitar recovered in Syrix's cavern embedded in an undead dragon.

Tessera - the raven-haired shadow priestess of Sehanine, and the girl Folke was sweet on.  She too was half-elven though she called the Hinterlands home, and the two formed a kinship over their mixed heritage.  Sharp of tongue but with a smile that could melt glaciers, Tessera was a useful ally, an excellent research partner, and the lovely muse for his music.

El Kabah -  An ancient Djinni of undetermined origin, age or strength, currently bound to a ring, but like all such creatures, highly intelligent and bound by strange honors and courtesies
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:52, Mon 19 Aug 2019.