Nettlekid
2017-04-16, 01:16 AM
Kurche Leverett (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1178630)
You'd likely be starting on the continent of Magnalia, which is the most active of the three. It's divided into four main territories, Amaranth in the south, Eornal in the east, Resswald in the west, and Cyridhi in the north. Amaranth is the largest and most urban region, home of the Magistrate who governs the central territory and a focus for trade throughout the continent which is riddled with paths and trade routes. While the urban environment lends itself to an eclectic mix of races all pursuing their trades in the bustling environment of the big city, there is an unmistakably Human-dominated atmosphere which on occasion causes tension between territories commanded by other races who have a longer-standing claim on the land which Human populations are encroaching on. On the eastern coast, bordering the oceans, are the Elf-dominated territories of Eornal marked by glades of towering trees. The Elven capital city Teurilain stands out above the trees, buildings of wood and marble rising out, but the smaller habitations are interwoven into the forest and hidden from the average eye. To the west, across a vast desert and into the mountains, is the Dwarf-centric domain of Resswald. The villages and capital of Drunvuur are all dug into the stones of the mountains, and reach deep into the earth where it breaches into the Underdark whose paths riddle the underbelly of the continent. Finally to the far north in the frosting tundra is the rough native Human land of Cyridhi, where the brutish humans stand tough against the elements.
The center of the continent is temperate grasslands whose grounds made easy work for earth roads to be packed and canals to be dug, and the villagers of central towns like Burrett, Vennington, and Hyll to name a few are used to travellers from the four corners of the continent passing through on the route to sell wares in other cities. These towns, while modest, are economically booming and necessary for the lifeblood of trade across Magnalia, as the longest journeys across the country can take a month on horseback and twice that with cargo-laden beasts of burden. Without these towns to chart a route through traders would be at risk of bandit attacks, and often can be persuaded to let some of their cargo go at a reduced price for the benefit of not having to continue shipping it all the way to their destination. It's said that some of the smartest economic minds on the continent are not in the glitzy, glamorous Amaranth but instead holed up in the many no-name outposts.
Regarding members of the Thieves Guild proper, there are some higher ranked members who keep a low public profile due to the notoriety they'd gather if they didn't, and there are numerous lower ranked members who are unknown due to lack of noteworthy accomplishment. To find members of the latter group you'd have to ask around in less reputable areas, implying you need "work" done or something like that. To come in contact with members of the former group you'd need to get the hookup from members of the latter group. Or somehow bypass the whole process by bashing down some figurative door. Perhaps investigating with the local authority, like the town guards affiliated with the City Watch or the magistrate's guards, to see if they have any leads to track down the criminals. Of course, you'd need to gain their trust first, since they don't involve civilians in police business.
While some splinter groups of thieves that aren't affiliated with the Thieves Guild do exist, it's hard to know of them by name or contact. That they're a lot harder to find within Amaranth itself rather than the outlying towns because the Thieves Guild keeps a strong grip on the criminal side of the city (shared by the very unofficial and very secretive Assassin's Guild, the two guilds occasionally making use of the other's services and somewhat bleeding into each other member-wise) and the Thieves Guild isn't going to allow any novice criminals to upset careful balances of power and authority. If a splinter group is still in existence, it's because it's very good at hiding itself.
Although the Merchant's Guild is multifaceted and has many heads, including a council which makes decisions such as the appointment of guards and changes to taxes or land ownership diplomatically, the average person on the street would point to Gristol Cavendish as the "boss" of the Merchant's Guild. A charming and charismatic man younger than you'd expect for his position, he's known for his original work as a deacon in the Church of Heironeous and was recommended for the Merchant's Guild due to his uncanny business sense, which did very well for the church and catapulted him through the ranks of the guild. As for accountants there are also several, but among the most prominent is Rayele Birchbark, a taciturn Elven woman whose name is really only known because Cavendish has publicly applauded her efforts on behalf of the guild. According to him, she has a quick and retentive mind and is indispensable for the guild's continued business.
Regarding the wealth of the guild, much of it is in non-liquid assets such as property deeds, though there is a substantial amount of actual gold kept in safes in both the Merchant Guild building and in the Magistrate's manor. It is defended with both mundane tactics like locked safes and with magical safeguards. The biggest defense of course, to those canny few who suspect dealings between the Merchant's Guild and Thieves Guild, is that the Thieves Guild would never steal from their often-employer and so any thief who tries likely belongs to one of those splinter groups, and that paints a huge target on their back. Anyone who's been able to keep hidden from the Thieves Guild for so long isn't about to risk their security for gold.
At its core, this guild is an organization for the bold and brave and daring to congregate and find people of similar minds who they get along with. Foreign and monstrous races find this place to be a safe haven in an ethnocentric Amaranth, and their association with the guild keeps them safe on the streets. Often unable to integrate into a prejudiced society, their mortal needs like food and shelter are provided by the guild. But these things take money, especially in an economically-driven city like Amaranth, which means they need some kind of income one way or another. The best way to get money is to do jobs that only they can do (hunt monsters, fight bandits, explore ruins, find treasure, etc) and this is ideal because the kind of person drawn to the guild in the first place is the kind of person who likes doing things like that. The aspiring swordsman who got in trouble with the law for picking fights now gets to chase down ne'er-do-wells, and the thrillseeking thief who used to break into houses now has a challenge in disarming traps in old ruins. They've made friends within the guild whose wellbeing they care about, and the more money they bring in the better the guild does and the more comfortable life is for all of them. It's a win-win as far as most members are concerned; those who don't see it that way rarely join or stay. For that same reason though, the guild doesn't want to rely on anyone who isn't planning to form a solid connection within the guild. Too many people would join frivolously, using the name of the guild to bolster their own social standing without actually contributing or getting to know the heart of it, and that goes against what they stand for.
Paracelsus Academy of Arcane Science is the premier mage's college in Magnalia, and by far the most prestigious.
Admission is extremely selective, and only those who show not only arcane talent but potential to become a notable name in the magical community are accepted for study. A select handful of professors each specialize in one or two schools of magic and teach students how to work with spells in a manner that breaks the mold of traditional spellcrafting. The head of the academy is one Theophrastus von Hohenheim, a Tiefling who keeps himself and his work behind many bolted doors. Although the school has come under fire frequently from the religious establishments within Amaranth the undeniable talent of the wizards it produces defends its reputation, as well as the fact that it has never been traced to any kind of disaster or public safety risk.
T'inker is a Warforged Artificer whose tireless arm and keenly appraising eye makes him the go-to for magical equipment and wondrous items. He's a no-nonsense kind of person and isn't shy to criticize ignorance or foolishness, but can be impressed by an appreciation of art. He also has no ethical compunctions against selling equipment to people who plan to use it for ill deeds, like members of the Thieves Guild, whose members he contracts with to punish thieves if his own (formidable) defenses don't catch someone who steals from him.
Billun Feranim is a Dwarf Ironsoul Forgemaster, one of very few Dwarves to own a permanent storefront on the market mile. His skill at handling molten metal is unparalleled, and his equipment both mundane and magical is some of the best on the continent. He cares deeply about his craft, and wants assurance that the weapons and armor he makes are going to people deserving of them.
Juiri Brothbrew is an elderly Halfling Master Alchemist who makes curative potions of impressive potency through the medium of delicious soups. Potion-makers at Paracelsus have been trying for decades to get her secrets, which she guards determinedly.
Aranara Bonebinder masquerades as a Human but is actually a Kalashtar Ardent with a kind soul and a devotion to healing. She uses her psionic abilities to knit together physical wounds and calm damaged minds, and to a similarly generous soul she doesn't charge for her services. Some of the more profiteering members of the church dislike this, but they can't figure out how she's healing people without divine influence.
If you were hurrying on horseback Burrett would be a little more than a week, maybe a week and a half, from Amaranth. Obviously trading caravans move a lot slower than that. It's about two weeks from Burrett to either Eornal's Teurilain or Resswald's Drunvuur, not factoring in time delays from environmental hazards like the forest or desert, and three to get further north to Cyridhi. From Amaranth to Teurilain or Drunvuur is about two and a half weeks as the crow flies, but those paths aren't well traveled and it's far less hazardous to travel north and then east or west rather than northeast or northwest directly. A lot of the trading routes were designed by the Human settlers, since prior to their colonization the east and west halves of the continent didn't really want anything from one another, but the Humans wanted goods from them both and had some unique products of their own.
The criminal element in Burrett is a bit strange, because it's almost like there's a degree of legal criminal behavior due to its interaction with the Merchant's Guild of Amaranth. Burrett as a city is well-defended, its borders are surrounded by palisades and there are guards from Amaranth stationed at the gates which open at the cardinal directions to let traffic through. This is necessary for a town distant from major cities but known for having substantial wealth at any given time. Most other trader towns have some manner of guards and defenses like these, but Burrett (and Vennington and Hyll) are among the most fortified. You don't need passports or papers to enter the town, guards are usually content to get a verbal declaration of purpose. Monstrous races like most Goblinoids or even Humanoids that just seem shifty are typically unfairly scrutinized, but permitted if the guards can find no reason to turn them away. All cargo and baggage is thoroughly examined in search of illegal or dangerous goods, but otherwise it isn't taxed or even recorded. On the other hand, cargo coming into the city of Amaranth has its inventory documented and reported to the Merchant's Guild and has both import and sale taxed. Naturally, taxes are higher for "exotic" goods, which is pretty much anything sold by an Eornal Elf or a Resswald Dwarf. The result of this is that many merchants, especially but not exclusively Elves and Dwarves, are glad to unload some of their cargo in those trading cities like Burrett, Vennington, and Hyll because that way they have less cargo when arriving in Amaranth and lose fewer profits to taxation. These merchants aren't concerned about what their buyers plan to do with the merchandise; the buyers could be travellers on the road interested in some unusual goods, maybe they're headed the other way and plan to resell at home, or they may even intend to smuggle the goods into Amaranth past the guilds. The Merchant's Guild of Amaranth is aware of these pre-import sales but doesn't have much of a way to stop them from happening, save for employing members of the Thieves Guild to follow or intercept merchants known for this kind of trading and collecting the Merchant's Guild's "fair share," plus a little extra for payment of the contract and to ensure it doesn't keep happening. Typically the Merchant's Guild tries to target traders who frequently bring oddly light loads into Amaranth, because it suggests they sold some of their wares during their voyage. These activities on the part of the Merchant's Guild are of course very illegal, but the paper-pushers are good at hiding their trail or any involvement with the Thieves Guild. And they'd be hard to touch anyway, as money is power in Amaranth and they're where the money goes.
Of course there are also bands of thieves that can be contacted that are not part of the Thieves Guild, who are straight-up crooks rather than "extralegal enforcers" and would be killed by Thieves Guild operatives if found stepping on shoes. The Merchant's Guild is technically only affiliated with the economy and trade that goes on within Amaranth city limits, so they don't have any official representation in the outside trading towns, but they do have means of getting word back to them. The guards of Burrett try to prevent people matching the profile of thieves from entering in the first place, but some manage to get through. Within the walls of Burrett thievery is typically deterred by threat of legal retribution. Merchants passing through towns like these often elect to pay a small fee to leave caravans and mules in either privately owned or government-funded lots for safekeeping through the nights. These lots tend to be heavily guarded, much to the appreciation of the merchants who make use of them. Merchants supply the lot-owner with records of their inventory which the lot-owners will confirm, and the merchants can then verify that nothing was stolen when they recover their goods. In the unlikely event of robbery, the merchants can hold the lot-owners responsible for failing to secure the goods; in effect, the goods are insured by the lot-owners while being held. If government-owned, the lot-owner will typically report the theft to the guards within Burrett who take the issue seriously (limiting exit from the city, demanding civilian searches, etc) and who pass on the report to the Merchant's Guild down south in Amaranth who use their own means of figuring out where stolen merchandise has gone. If privately-owned lots are stolen from they have fewer connections with the government-funded lots, so they have to employ their own means of settling the score. As a result privately-owned lots are considerably better protected, and often more expensive for a merchant to use. The government-owned lots are averagely protected, because there's a better chance that a thief will be tracked down by the government upon theft. Thieves are well aware of the pros and cons of taking from either kind of lot, and infrequently do either.
There's also the category of merchant that prefers not to make use of the lots and either leave their merchandise in the open but nearby where they hope to keep an eye on it, or keep it safely on their person by means of extradimensional storage. Since stealing is a serious crime in a trading town regardless of the placement of the goods, cargo left in the open is still fairly safe considering the guards patrol with some regularity. But any serious merchant wouldn't leave things up to chance like that, that's only what an amateur who's trying to save some coin would do.
The result of all of the above is that thievery is far more common shortly outside of Burrett or any other trading down, perhaps ten or twenty miles outside city limits where a band of thieves can expect a caravan to get to in a day of travel. Banditry is still illegal but it's harder to enforce when there aren't guards within a shout's distance, stolen merchandise is more difficult to verify without witnesses, and by the time authorities arrive the bandits are usually long gone. If the Merchant's Guild were to ever send Thieves Guild operatives to "reprimand" unscrupulous merchants, it would be on these open roads rather than in a town that the thieves would strike. Merchants may have a variety of defenses against this type of raid, be it use of magical items and traps or hired help as escort, enough to foil common thugs like a group of Goblins but usually inferior to the resources professional thieves would put into a raid.
The Elves of Eornal are divided in their mentalities, some being more militant and active and others valuing artistry and reflection, but their society is universally highly spiritual. It's not as church-focused as the Empire save for respects paid to Corellon Larethian, Ehlonna, and Obad-Hai, but they have a Druidic approach to natural order even if very few are actual Druids. Their society tries to invade on nature as little as possible, working with naturally fallen trees as lumber or magically growing the trees to suit their purposes rather than chopping any down. At the same time, they consider themselves to be an apex in the natural order and own the right to use nature as they please, being at the top of it. As such they tolerate pretty much all creatures types apart from Undead, Constructs, and Aberrations as part of the natural order, as long as those creatures stay in their lane. Even though some magical beasts are as intelligent as any humanoid creature the Elves would consider them to be beasts rather than people. They wouldn't be afforded any legal protection as humanoids under Elf law, which means that among other things the killing a sentient creature like a werewolf is no more than a minor offense and isn't an issue that would be brought to court or tribunal. Then again if these creatures keep to themselves then the Elves would treat them like normal animals and not attack them on sight or anything like that. The result is that the forests of Eornal are full of exotic and wild creatures who often harbor resentment toward humanoids.
The Dwarves of Resswald on the other hand base value in their society off of labor and craftsmanship. Anyone, regardless of race or belief, can grow to become a respected member of Dwarven society if they prove that they are willing to put their nose to the grindstone and work for the benefit of the Dwarven people. Most up-and-comers are found carving through the depths of the mountain, working to spread out the city and add to the labyrinth of tunnels reaching into the bowels of the continent. Even members of the Dwarven government, who convene routinely to discuss the direction of society, are known to take a pick and shovel on their off days and chip away at the stone. As it was through this kind of work that they rose to their position, many find it relaxing to revisit their personal histories. Dwarves who find that kind of direct physical labor exhausting usually turn to crafting instead, working with the stone and metals that the Dwarves collect in excess, or doing their own carving by making homes and dwellings in the new tunnels. Yet others who find this kind of toil tiresome take to the crusade, warring against the Aberrations of the Underdark who see the Dwarf tunnels as an intermediate step before invading the surface. Dwarven society is thus open to peculiar creatures and oftentimes monstrous races with impressive natural strength will outshine the work of regular Dwarves, though the Dwarves are quick to be fair and judge an individual not solely by accomplishment but by effort and taking natural talent into perspective.
Due north from Burrett, flanked on the west by diminishing peaks bordering Resswald's desert and on the east by the sparse woodlands that further south become the forests of Eornal, is a cold and harsh wasteland that's claimed by the Humans of Cyridhi. These Humans are natives of the land the same as the Elves and Dwarves, not descended from Solthlunian colonists like most of Amaranth. They are a simpler people with a gruff culture, as the wastes reward effort only with survival. They value strength, but strength is not just muscle. Any who shows themselves to excel at a craft or skill is considered strong. These Humans are deeply social and band together to lash out at threats against their community like monsters or invaders. Exile is akin to execution as it means either death in the wild or isolation among the alien societies down south, and so it is reserved only for heinous criminals whose actions threaten the safety of the clan. While it is uncommon for any clan to leave their village all at once, foragers or adventurers may splinter off to explore other parts of the waste and come across another clan. Enough interchange between clans or marriage between them may encourage one group to move to join with another. Foreigners from down south are usually treated with mistrust initially, but welcomed and embraced if they either do a great service for a village or simply stay long enough without causing trouble.
Across the eastern ocean from Magnalia is the continent Solthlune, center of the Solthlunian Empire to which the Magistrate of Amaranth reports. Solthlune holds a strongly theistic society in which the Emperor, here one Emperor Bertund Tzikias IV, is considered to have divine authority and deific endorsement. Churches of gods supporting Law and Good are strongly supported in Solthlune, while those of Chaos are tolerated to a lesser degree and those of Evil are not permitted open worship. It's through the churches that money flows in Solthlune. Government subsidies for clerical study mean that there is a high proportion of healers on the continent, which in turn means that the destitute population is nonexistent due to even acolyte Clerics being able to conjure food and water or heal the wounds of the sick and injured. The flipside of this is that to be taken care of by the church requires the declaration of ones loyalty to the church in question, though most don't question this practice. It also means that joining the church is the fastest way to a better lifestyle, and as a result Solthlune's other fields of scientific investigation or technological innovation are lacking in comparison.
The populated region of Solthlune is smaller than Magnalia and of an even more temperate climate, predominantly composed of plains and rocky outcroppings. It contains fewer natural resources than Magnalia which have been taxed heavily, making Magnalia a prized colony for imports. The less populated regions actually comprise the majority of the continent, but the terrain is rough and rocky and inhospitable. Solthlune holds a strongly pro-Human cause which manifested a few centuries ago as a templar-propelled crusade which eradicated the vast majority of monstrous creatures. The few which remained retreated either to the furthest edges of the rocky eastern terrain or into the caves of the Underdark and out of the minds of the population. In some of the borders between thoroughly inhospitable and manageable, enterprising Humans have taken to keeping controlled farms of monstrous creatures such as Blink Dogs, Gargoyles, Krenshars, Howlers, and Wargs, and infrequently more dangerous creatures like Chimeras, Hydras, and Displacer Beasts for hides and other products. These farms are legally permitted but socially frowned upon (despite the ever-increasing demand for the products of the farms) and as such heavily taxed. If a farm fails to pay taxes, is discovered to have been operating outside proper channels, or loses control of their livestock, the livestock in question will be unceremoniously slaughtered by the knight-templars of the Solthlunian capitol.
Across the oceans south of both Solthlune and Magnalia is the largely unexplored continent of Kynea. Kynea is a much warmer and more humid climate, and catching more sunlight explains the overgrowth of broad-leafed plants that both rise high into the air and tangle themselves into knots on the jungle floor. A number of factors have limited thorough exploration of Kynea. For starters, the oppressive heat and obstructive foliage make any forward progress twice as draining as normal, and many expeditions retreat having exhausted their supplies early. The environment is also highly hazardous, as flora and fauna alike are toxic, caustic, or hallucinogenic. Taxonomic errors have claimed many lives, which in turn hinders proper categorization of these dangerous plants and animals. Finally, it is suspected but not confirmed that several of the sapient monstrous races with intelligence equalling or exceeding that of the Humans who took hold of Solthlune made Kynea their new home. This theory is substantiated mostly by a lack of evidence - that is to say, any exploration party that might have feasibly discovered one of these races has not returned from its expedition.
I am combining Spot/Listen/Search into Perception (Wis), Hide/Move Silently into Stealth (Dex), Balance/Jump/Tumble into Acrobatics (Dex), Climb/Swim into Athletics (Str), Forgery/Decipher Script/Speak Language into Linguistics (Int), Bluff/Diplomacy/Intimidate/Gather Information into Persuasion (Cha), and Open Lock is now subsumed into Disable Device. Having any of the component skills on your skill list means you have the combined skill on the list instead, even if you didn't have the others (so Barbarians have Perception since they had Listen, even though they don't have Spot.) Bonuses that apply for a particular usage of a skill apply to any use of that skill (so Balancing Armor is effectively Acrobatic Armor and applies its bonus for Jumping and Tumbling too) unless it clearly could not aid the skill in its current application. For example, Invisibility doesn't make you any harder to Perceive by hearing, even though it gives a big boost to Stealth. Or a Raptoran's wings don't add their +10 to Acrobatics for Tumbling, only Jumping. Having a Swim speed and gaining a +8 on Athletics checks for it won't help with Climbing.
Also I'm going to be running Persuasion much more ad hoc rather than by the set DCs in the book. High checks make you more persuasive or can prevent a target from immediately seeing that you're lying, but no skill is going to automatically gain allies just from a high roll nor do they automatically fail just because you rolled low if you roleplay it convincingly.
Saves and BAB are fractional, and you can only get the +2 for having a good save a single time (that is to say, you don't get +2 to a save every time you take the first level of a class with that as a good save.) You are allowed up to two Traits from UA, and you may have one Flaw which cannot be from UA. This must be a Flaw that you yourself invent and run by me, and it must have some mechanical effect which connects to the character in a flavorful way so as to encourage roleplaying. Examples of Flaws I've liked in the past included a Shadowcaster whose excitable shadow tangled her up, and at the start of each combat she had a 20% chance to be tripped. There was a proud warrior who took a -1 to Will saves for every 10% of his HP he was down from the blow to his pride and confidence. That kind of thing.
I don't like keeping track of XP, so you'll level up after you've done enough story-wise. All XP costs (of spells and crafting and such) will be replaced by an equivalent 5 GP per XP cost, though that conversion happens at the end of the process (so Extraordinary Artisan won't decrease the XP-to-Gold cost, you'd still need Legendary Artisan to do that).
Across the rolling green fields, glistening dewdrops began to fade into nonexistence as the sun sat comfortably in the morning sky. The air carried by the warm breeze brings with it the gentle perfumes of blooming flowers and drying grasses. The weight of the sunlight is the true marker of the tomb of spring, as summer's heat is just around the corner and bound to make itself all the more pronounced the further south one travels. It has been a full week since the last town and last piece of civilization (minuscule though it was) disappeared over the hills of the grasslands, and Kurche has had little to guide her save from the winding rivers and the occasional traveler met on the crisscrossing roads. The mountains to the west have moved farther and farther until only hills remained, though it will be a far cry until the forests of the westernmost edge of Eornal appear on the eastern horizon. Now though over the next hill the sight of civilization emerges.
If her path was correct this will be the town of Burrett, the largest of the trading post cities and situated precisely in the center of civilized Magnalia. She's heard tell of this place, that commerce from the four corners of the continent passes through Burrett on the route to their final destinations. Because of the comparative difficulty for western Dwarves to sell wares in the forests of Eornal and for eastern Elves to do business in the mountains of Resswald and because of the overbearing taxation placed on "exotic" (read: non-human) goods within Amaranth, the canniest merchants try to unload the majority of their goods within trading centers like Burrett to save on time and travel. The Merchant's Guild of Amaranth which stands to profit from taxation of sold goods has been trying to crack down on trading that goes on outside of Amaranth city limits, and it's speculated that half the burglaries and bandit raids that are all too common in the few miles of open space outside of Burrett are commissioned Thieves Guild members punishing merchants whose coin doesn't flow the way the Merchant's Guild wants it to. The Thieves Guild has its strongest presence in Amaranth proper but it's been known to have eyes and ears in every noteworthy town in the country, and it's these eyes and ears which bring Kurche to Burrett today. She's caught wind of a rumor that an associate of her parents', the cunning Halfling Jannad Glinteye (or at the very least someone closely matching her description,) has been running messages in these outlying villages on behalf of the Thieves Guild. Naturally this isn't the type of rumor which can be easily followed up on, as nosy investigation about the dealings of the Thieves Guild will bring trouble from both lawmen and the Thieves Guild alike, but Kurche may be able to ferret out some clue if she says the right thing to the right person. And if it turns out to be a dead end, Burrett's a better place than most to pick up a new rumor.
The town of Burrett is open but secure - while passage through is easy to obtain, the village is decently defended with palisades that form a wall stretching about a mile long on all sides, and a wide gate with ropes to close it in the event of a raid by a band of Goblins or roaming Orcs less civil than Kurche and her kin. Lightly armored Human guards occasionally pace back and forth but for the most part lean against the wooden barricade, leather caps starting to warm up in the steady sunlight. One of these guards notices Kurche's approach and straightens, a look of uncertainty on his slightly furrowed brow.
"Hail, traveler. What brings you to these parts, and on your own or with company? I trust you plan to cause no trouble, Orc," he says, with a tone that suggests that he doesn't trust that at all.
You'd likely be starting on the continent of Magnalia, which is the most active of the three. It's divided into four main territories, Amaranth in the south, Eornal in the east, Resswald in the west, and Cyridhi in the north. Amaranth is the largest and most urban region, home of the Magistrate who governs the central territory and a focus for trade throughout the continent which is riddled with paths and trade routes. While the urban environment lends itself to an eclectic mix of races all pursuing their trades in the bustling environment of the big city, there is an unmistakably Human-dominated atmosphere which on occasion causes tension between territories commanded by other races who have a longer-standing claim on the land which Human populations are encroaching on. On the eastern coast, bordering the oceans, are the Elf-dominated territories of Eornal marked by glades of towering trees. The Elven capital city Teurilain stands out above the trees, buildings of wood and marble rising out, but the smaller habitations are interwoven into the forest and hidden from the average eye. To the west, across a vast desert and into the mountains, is the Dwarf-centric domain of Resswald. The villages and capital of Drunvuur are all dug into the stones of the mountains, and reach deep into the earth where it breaches into the Underdark whose paths riddle the underbelly of the continent. Finally to the far north in the frosting tundra is the rough native Human land of Cyridhi, where the brutish humans stand tough against the elements.
The center of the continent is temperate grasslands whose grounds made easy work for earth roads to be packed and canals to be dug, and the villagers of central towns like Burrett, Vennington, and Hyll to name a few are used to travellers from the four corners of the continent passing through on the route to sell wares in other cities. These towns, while modest, are economically booming and necessary for the lifeblood of trade across Magnalia, as the longest journeys across the country can take a month on horseback and twice that with cargo-laden beasts of burden. Without these towns to chart a route through traders would be at risk of bandit attacks, and often can be persuaded to let some of their cargo go at a reduced price for the benefit of not having to continue shipping it all the way to their destination. It's said that some of the smartest economic minds on the continent are not in the glitzy, glamorous Amaranth but instead holed up in the many no-name outposts.
Regarding members of the Thieves Guild proper, there are some higher ranked members who keep a low public profile due to the notoriety they'd gather if they didn't, and there are numerous lower ranked members who are unknown due to lack of noteworthy accomplishment. To find members of the latter group you'd have to ask around in less reputable areas, implying you need "work" done or something like that. To come in contact with members of the former group you'd need to get the hookup from members of the latter group. Or somehow bypass the whole process by bashing down some figurative door. Perhaps investigating with the local authority, like the town guards affiliated with the City Watch or the magistrate's guards, to see if they have any leads to track down the criminals. Of course, you'd need to gain their trust first, since they don't involve civilians in police business.
While some splinter groups of thieves that aren't affiliated with the Thieves Guild do exist, it's hard to know of them by name or contact. That they're a lot harder to find within Amaranth itself rather than the outlying towns because the Thieves Guild keeps a strong grip on the criminal side of the city (shared by the very unofficial and very secretive Assassin's Guild, the two guilds occasionally making use of the other's services and somewhat bleeding into each other member-wise) and the Thieves Guild isn't going to allow any novice criminals to upset careful balances of power and authority. If a splinter group is still in existence, it's because it's very good at hiding itself.
Although the Merchant's Guild is multifaceted and has many heads, including a council which makes decisions such as the appointment of guards and changes to taxes or land ownership diplomatically, the average person on the street would point to Gristol Cavendish as the "boss" of the Merchant's Guild. A charming and charismatic man younger than you'd expect for his position, he's known for his original work as a deacon in the Church of Heironeous and was recommended for the Merchant's Guild due to his uncanny business sense, which did very well for the church and catapulted him through the ranks of the guild. As for accountants there are also several, but among the most prominent is Rayele Birchbark, a taciturn Elven woman whose name is really only known because Cavendish has publicly applauded her efforts on behalf of the guild. According to him, she has a quick and retentive mind and is indispensable for the guild's continued business.
Regarding the wealth of the guild, much of it is in non-liquid assets such as property deeds, though there is a substantial amount of actual gold kept in safes in both the Merchant Guild building and in the Magistrate's manor. It is defended with both mundane tactics like locked safes and with magical safeguards. The biggest defense of course, to those canny few who suspect dealings between the Merchant's Guild and Thieves Guild, is that the Thieves Guild would never steal from their often-employer and so any thief who tries likely belongs to one of those splinter groups, and that paints a huge target on their back. Anyone who's been able to keep hidden from the Thieves Guild for so long isn't about to risk their security for gold.
At its core, this guild is an organization for the bold and brave and daring to congregate and find people of similar minds who they get along with. Foreign and monstrous races find this place to be a safe haven in an ethnocentric Amaranth, and their association with the guild keeps them safe on the streets. Often unable to integrate into a prejudiced society, their mortal needs like food and shelter are provided by the guild. But these things take money, especially in an economically-driven city like Amaranth, which means they need some kind of income one way or another. The best way to get money is to do jobs that only they can do (hunt monsters, fight bandits, explore ruins, find treasure, etc) and this is ideal because the kind of person drawn to the guild in the first place is the kind of person who likes doing things like that. The aspiring swordsman who got in trouble with the law for picking fights now gets to chase down ne'er-do-wells, and the thrillseeking thief who used to break into houses now has a challenge in disarming traps in old ruins. They've made friends within the guild whose wellbeing they care about, and the more money they bring in the better the guild does and the more comfortable life is for all of them. It's a win-win as far as most members are concerned; those who don't see it that way rarely join or stay. For that same reason though, the guild doesn't want to rely on anyone who isn't planning to form a solid connection within the guild. Too many people would join frivolously, using the name of the guild to bolster their own social standing without actually contributing or getting to know the heart of it, and that goes against what they stand for.
Paracelsus Academy of Arcane Science is the premier mage's college in Magnalia, and by far the most prestigious.
Admission is extremely selective, and only those who show not only arcane talent but potential to become a notable name in the magical community are accepted for study. A select handful of professors each specialize in one or two schools of magic and teach students how to work with spells in a manner that breaks the mold of traditional spellcrafting. The head of the academy is one Theophrastus von Hohenheim, a Tiefling who keeps himself and his work behind many bolted doors. Although the school has come under fire frequently from the religious establishments within Amaranth the undeniable talent of the wizards it produces defends its reputation, as well as the fact that it has never been traced to any kind of disaster or public safety risk.
T'inker is a Warforged Artificer whose tireless arm and keenly appraising eye makes him the go-to for magical equipment and wondrous items. He's a no-nonsense kind of person and isn't shy to criticize ignorance or foolishness, but can be impressed by an appreciation of art. He also has no ethical compunctions against selling equipment to people who plan to use it for ill deeds, like members of the Thieves Guild, whose members he contracts with to punish thieves if his own (formidable) defenses don't catch someone who steals from him.
Billun Feranim is a Dwarf Ironsoul Forgemaster, one of very few Dwarves to own a permanent storefront on the market mile. His skill at handling molten metal is unparalleled, and his equipment both mundane and magical is some of the best on the continent. He cares deeply about his craft, and wants assurance that the weapons and armor he makes are going to people deserving of them.
Juiri Brothbrew is an elderly Halfling Master Alchemist who makes curative potions of impressive potency through the medium of delicious soups. Potion-makers at Paracelsus have been trying for decades to get her secrets, which she guards determinedly.
Aranara Bonebinder masquerades as a Human but is actually a Kalashtar Ardent with a kind soul and a devotion to healing. She uses her psionic abilities to knit together physical wounds and calm damaged minds, and to a similarly generous soul she doesn't charge for her services. Some of the more profiteering members of the church dislike this, but they can't figure out how she's healing people without divine influence.
If you were hurrying on horseback Burrett would be a little more than a week, maybe a week and a half, from Amaranth. Obviously trading caravans move a lot slower than that. It's about two weeks from Burrett to either Eornal's Teurilain or Resswald's Drunvuur, not factoring in time delays from environmental hazards like the forest or desert, and three to get further north to Cyridhi. From Amaranth to Teurilain or Drunvuur is about two and a half weeks as the crow flies, but those paths aren't well traveled and it's far less hazardous to travel north and then east or west rather than northeast or northwest directly. A lot of the trading routes were designed by the Human settlers, since prior to their colonization the east and west halves of the continent didn't really want anything from one another, but the Humans wanted goods from them both and had some unique products of their own.
The criminal element in Burrett is a bit strange, because it's almost like there's a degree of legal criminal behavior due to its interaction with the Merchant's Guild of Amaranth. Burrett as a city is well-defended, its borders are surrounded by palisades and there are guards from Amaranth stationed at the gates which open at the cardinal directions to let traffic through. This is necessary for a town distant from major cities but known for having substantial wealth at any given time. Most other trader towns have some manner of guards and defenses like these, but Burrett (and Vennington and Hyll) are among the most fortified. You don't need passports or papers to enter the town, guards are usually content to get a verbal declaration of purpose. Monstrous races like most Goblinoids or even Humanoids that just seem shifty are typically unfairly scrutinized, but permitted if the guards can find no reason to turn them away. All cargo and baggage is thoroughly examined in search of illegal or dangerous goods, but otherwise it isn't taxed or even recorded. On the other hand, cargo coming into the city of Amaranth has its inventory documented and reported to the Merchant's Guild and has both import and sale taxed. Naturally, taxes are higher for "exotic" goods, which is pretty much anything sold by an Eornal Elf or a Resswald Dwarf. The result of this is that many merchants, especially but not exclusively Elves and Dwarves, are glad to unload some of their cargo in those trading cities like Burrett, Vennington, and Hyll because that way they have less cargo when arriving in Amaranth and lose fewer profits to taxation. These merchants aren't concerned about what their buyers plan to do with the merchandise; the buyers could be travellers on the road interested in some unusual goods, maybe they're headed the other way and plan to resell at home, or they may even intend to smuggle the goods into Amaranth past the guilds. The Merchant's Guild of Amaranth is aware of these pre-import sales but doesn't have much of a way to stop them from happening, save for employing members of the Thieves Guild to follow or intercept merchants known for this kind of trading and collecting the Merchant's Guild's "fair share," plus a little extra for payment of the contract and to ensure it doesn't keep happening. Typically the Merchant's Guild tries to target traders who frequently bring oddly light loads into Amaranth, because it suggests they sold some of their wares during their voyage. These activities on the part of the Merchant's Guild are of course very illegal, but the paper-pushers are good at hiding their trail or any involvement with the Thieves Guild. And they'd be hard to touch anyway, as money is power in Amaranth and they're where the money goes.
Of course there are also bands of thieves that can be contacted that are not part of the Thieves Guild, who are straight-up crooks rather than "extralegal enforcers" and would be killed by Thieves Guild operatives if found stepping on shoes. The Merchant's Guild is technically only affiliated with the economy and trade that goes on within Amaranth city limits, so they don't have any official representation in the outside trading towns, but they do have means of getting word back to them. The guards of Burrett try to prevent people matching the profile of thieves from entering in the first place, but some manage to get through. Within the walls of Burrett thievery is typically deterred by threat of legal retribution. Merchants passing through towns like these often elect to pay a small fee to leave caravans and mules in either privately owned or government-funded lots for safekeeping through the nights. These lots tend to be heavily guarded, much to the appreciation of the merchants who make use of them. Merchants supply the lot-owner with records of their inventory which the lot-owners will confirm, and the merchants can then verify that nothing was stolen when they recover their goods. In the unlikely event of robbery, the merchants can hold the lot-owners responsible for failing to secure the goods; in effect, the goods are insured by the lot-owners while being held. If government-owned, the lot-owner will typically report the theft to the guards within Burrett who take the issue seriously (limiting exit from the city, demanding civilian searches, etc) and who pass on the report to the Merchant's Guild down south in Amaranth who use their own means of figuring out where stolen merchandise has gone. If privately-owned lots are stolen from they have fewer connections with the government-funded lots, so they have to employ their own means of settling the score. As a result privately-owned lots are considerably better protected, and often more expensive for a merchant to use. The government-owned lots are averagely protected, because there's a better chance that a thief will be tracked down by the government upon theft. Thieves are well aware of the pros and cons of taking from either kind of lot, and infrequently do either.
There's also the category of merchant that prefers not to make use of the lots and either leave their merchandise in the open but nearby where they hope to keep an eye on it, or keep it safely on their person by means of extradimensional storage. Since stealing is a serious crime in a trading town regardless of the placement of the goods, cargo left in the open is still fairly safe considering the guards patrol with some regularity. But any serious merchant wouldn't leave things up to chance like that, that's only what an amateur who's trying to save some coin would do.
The result of all of the above is that thievery is far more common shortly outside of Burrett or any other trading down, perhaps ten or twenty miles outside city limits where a band of thieves can expect a caravan to get to in a day of travel. Banditry is still illegal but it's harder to enforce when there aren't guards within a shout's distance, stolen merchandise is more difficult to verify without witnesses, and by the time authorities arrive the bandits are usually long gone. If the Merchant's Guild were to ever send Thieves Guild operatives to "reprimand" unscrupulous merchants, it would be on these open roads rather than in a town that the thieves would strike. Merchants may have a variety of defenses against this type of raid, be it use of magical items and traps or hired help as escort, enough to foil common thugs like a group of Goblins but usually inferior to the resources professional thieves would put into a raid.
The Elves of Eornal are divided in their mentalities, some being more militant and active and others valuing artistry and reflection, but their society is universally highly spiritual. It's not as church-focused as the Empire save for respects paid to Corellon Larethian, Ehlonna, and Obad-Hai, but they have a Druidic approach to natural order even if very few are actual Druids. Their society tries to invade on nature as little as possible, working with naturally fallen trees as lumber or magically growing the trees to suit their purposes rather than chopping any down. At the same time, they consider themselves to be an apex in the natural order and own the right to use nature as they please, being at the top of it. As such they tolerate pretty much all creatures types apart from Undead, Constructs, and Aberrations as part of the natural order, as long as those creatures stay in their lane. Even though some magical beasts are as intelligent as any humanoid creature the Elves would consider them to be beasts rather than people. They wouldn't be afforded any legal protection as humanoids under Elf law, which means that among other things the killing a sentient creature like a werewolf is no more than a minor offense and isn't an issue that would be brought to court or tribunal. Then again if these creatures keep to themselves then the Elves would treat them like normal animals and not attack them on sight or anything like that. The result is that the forests of Eornal are full of exotic and wild creatures who often harbor resentment toward humanoids.
The Dwarves of Resswald on the other hand base value in their society off of labor and craftsmanship. Anyone, regardless of race or belief, can grow to become a respected member of Dwarven society if they prove that they are willing to put their nose to the grindstone and work for the benefit of the Dwarven people. Most up-and-comers are found carving through the depths of the mountain, working to spread out the city and add to the labyrinth of tunnels reaching into the bowels of the continent. Even members of the Dwarven government, who convene routinely to discuss the direction of society, are known to take a pick and shovel on their off days and chip away at the stone. As it was through this kind of work that they rose to their position, many find it relaxing to revisit their personal histories. Dwarves who find that kind of direct physical labor exhausting usually turn to crafting instead, working with the stone and metals that the Dwarves collect in excess, or doing their own carving by making homes and dwellings in the new tunnels. Yet others who find this kind of toil tiresome take to the crusade, warring against the Aberrations of the Underdark who see the Dwarf tunnels as an intermediate step before invading the surface. Dwarven society is thus open to peculiar creatures and oftentimes monstrous races with impressive natural strength will outshine the work of regular Dwarves, though the Dwarves are quick to be fair and judge an individual not solely by accomplishment but by effort and taking natural talent into perspective.
Due north from Burrett, flanked on the west by diminishing peaks bordering Resswald's desert and on the east by the sparse woodlands that further south become the forests of Eornal, is a cold and harsh wasteland that's claimed by the Humans of Cyridhi. These Humans are natives of the land the same as the Elves and Dwarves, not descended from Solthlunian colonists like most of Amaranth. They are a simpler people with a gruff culture, as the wastes reward effort only with survival. They value strength, but strength is not just muscle. Any who shows themselves to excel at a craft or skill is considered strong. These Humans are deeply social and band together to lash out at threats against their community like monsters or invaders. Exile is akin to execution as it means either death in the wild or isolation among the alien societies down south, and so it is reserved only for heinous criminals whose actions threaten the safety of the clan. While it is uncommon for any clan to leave their village all at once, foragers or adventurers may splinter off to explore other parts of the waste and come across another clan. Enough interchange between clans or marriage between them may encourage one group to move to join with another. Foreigners from down south are usually treated with mistrust initially, but welcomed and embraced if they either do a great service for a village or simply stay long enough without causing trouble.
Across the eastern ocean from Magnalia is the continent Solthlune, center of the Solthlunian Empire to which the Magistrate of Amaranth reports. Solthlune holds a strongly theistic society in which the Emperor, here one Emperor Bertund Tzikias IV, is considered to have divine authority and deific endorsement. Churches of gods supporting Law and Good are strongly supported in Solthlune, while those of Chaos are tolerated to a lesser degree and those of Evil are not permitted open worship. It's through the churches that money flows in Solthlune. Government subsidies for clerical study mean that there is a high proportion of healers on the continent, which in turn means that the destitute population is nonexistent due to even acolyte Clerics being able to conjure food and water or heal the wounds of the sick and injured. The flipside of this is that to be taken care of by the church requires the declaration of ones loyalty to the church in question, though most don't question this practice. It also means that joining the church is the fastest way to a better lifestyle, and as a result Solthlune's other fields of scientific investigation or technological innovation are lacking in comparison.
The populated region of Solthlune is smaller than Magnalia and of an even more temperate climate, predominantly composed of plains and rocky outcroppings. It contains fewer natural resources than Magnalia which have been taxed heavily, making Magnalia a prized colony for imports. The less populated regions actually comprise the majority of the continent, but the terrain is rough and rocky and inhospitable. Solthlune holds a strongly pro-Human cause which manifested a few centuries ago as a templar-propelled crusade which eradicated the vast majority of monstrous creatures. The few which remained retreated either to the furthest edges of the rocky eastern terrain or into the caves of the Underdark and out of the minds of the population. In some of the borders between thoroughly inhospitable and manageable, enterprising Humans have taken to keeping controlled farms of monstrous creatures such as Blink Dogs, Gargoyles, Krenshars, Howlers, and Wargs, and infrequently more dangerous creatures like Chimeras, Hydras, and Displacer Beasts for hides and other products. These farms are legally permitted but socially frowned upon (despite the ever-increasing demand for the products of the farms) and as such heavily taxed. If a farm fails to pay taxes, is discovered to have been operating outside proper channels, or loses control of their livestock, the livestock in question will be unceremoniously slaughtered by the knight-templars of the Solthlunian capitol.
Across the oceans south of both Solthlune and Magnalia is the largely unexplored continent of Kynea. Kynea is a much warmer and more humid climate, and catching more sunlight explains the overgrowth of broad-leafed plants that both rise high into the air and tangle themselves into knots on the jungle floor. A number of factors have limited thorough exploration of Kynea. For starters, the oppressive heat and obstructive foliage make any forward progress twice as draining as normal, and many expeditions retreat having exhausted their supplies early. The environment is also highly hazardous, as flora and fauna alike are toxic, caustic, or hallucinogenic. Taxonomic errors have claimed many lives, which in turn hinders proper categorization of these dangerous plants and animals. Finally, it is suspected but not confirmed that several of the sapient monstrous races with intelligence equalling or exceeding that of the Humans who took hold of Solthlune made Kynea their new home. This theory is substantiated mostly by a lack of evidence - that is to say, any exploration party that might have feasibly discovered one of these races has not returned from its expedition.
I am combining Spot/Listen/Search into Perception (Wis), Hide/Move Silently into Stealth (Dex), Balance/Jump/Tumble into Acrobatics (Dex), Climb/Swim into Athletics (Str), Forgery/Decipher Script/Speak Language into Linguistics (Int), Bluff/Diplomacy/Intimidate/Gather Information into Persuasion (Cha), and Open Lock is now subsumed into Disable Device. Having any of the component skills on your skill list means you have the combined skill on the list instead, even if you didn't have the others (so Barbarians have Perception since they had Listen, even though they don't have Spot.) Bonuses that apply for a particular usage of a skill apply to any use of that skill (so Balancing Armor is effectively Acrobatic Armor and applies its bonus for Jumping and Tumbling too) unless it clearly could not aid the skill in its current application. For example, Invisibility doesn't make you any harder to Perceive by hearing, even though it gives a big boost to Stealth. Or a Raptoran's wings don't add their +10 to Acrobatics for Tumbling, only Jumping. Having a Swim speed and gaining a +8 on Athletics checks for it won't help with Climbing.
Also I'm going to be running Persuasion much more ad hoc rather than by the set DCs in the book. High checks make you more persuasive or can prevent a target from immediately seeing that you're lying, but no skill is going to automatically gain allies just from a high roll nor do they automatically fail just because you rolled low if you roleplay it convincingly.
Saves and BAB are fractional, and you can only get the +2 for having a good save a single time (that is to say, you don't get +2 to a save every time you take the first level of a class with that as a good save.) You are allowed up to two Traits from UA, and you may have one Flaw which cannot be from UA. This must be a Flaw that you yourself invent and run by me, and it must have some mechanical effect which connects to the character in a flavorful way so as to encourage roleplaying. Examples of Flaws I've liked in the past included a Shadowcaster whose excitable shadow tangled her up, and at the start of each combat she had a 20% chance to be tripped. There was a proud warrior who took a -1 to Will saves for every 10% of his HP he was down from the blow to his pride and confidence. That kind of thing.
I don't like keeping track of XP, so you'll level up after you've done enough story-wise. All XP costs (of spells and crafting and such) will be replaced by an equivalent 5 GP per XP cost, though that conversion happens at the end of the process (so Extraordinary Artisan won't decrease the XP-to-Gold cost, you'd still need Legendary Artisan to do that).
Across the rolling green fields, glistening dewdrops began to fade into nonexistence as the sun sat comfortably in the morning sky. The air carried by the warm breeze brings with it the gentle perfumes of blooming flowers and drying grasses. The weight of the sunlight is the true marker of the tomb of spring, as summer's heat is just around the corner and bound to make itself all the more pronounced the further south one travels. It has been a full week since the last town and last piece of civilization (minuscule though it was) disappeared over the hills of the grasslands, and Kurche has had little to guide her save from the winding rivers and the occasional traveler met on the crisscrossing roads. The mountains to the west have moved farther and farther until only hills remained, though it will be a far cry until the forests of the westernmost edge of Eornal appear on the eastern horizon. Now though over the next hill the sight of civilization emerges.
If her path was correct this will be the town of Burrett, the largest of the trading post cities and situated precisely in the center of civilized Magnalia. She's heard tell of this place, that commerce from the four corners of the continent passes through Burrett on the route to their final destinations. Because of the comparative difficulty for western Dwarves to sell wares in the forests of Eornal and for eastern Elves to do business in the mountains of Resswald and because of the overbearing taxation placed on "exotic" (read: non-human) goods within Amaranth, the canniest merchants try to unload the majority of their goods within trading centers like Burrett to save on time and travel. The Merchant's Guild of Amaranth which stands to profit from taxation of sold goods has been trying to crack down on trading that goes on outside of Amaranth city limits, and it's speculated that half the burglaries and bandit raids that are all too common in the few miles of open space outside of Burrett are commissioned Thieves Guild members punishing merchants whose coin doesn't flow the way the Merchant's Guild wants it to. The Thieves Guild has its strongest presence in Amaranth proper but it's been known to have eyes and ears in every noteworthy town in the country, and it's these eyes and ears which bring Kurche to Burrett today. She's caught wind of a rumor that an associate of her parents', the cunning Halfling Jannad Glinteye (or at the very least someone closely matching her description,) has been running messages in these outlying villages on behalf of the Thieves Guild. Naturally this isn't the type of rumor which can be easily followed up on, as nosy investigation about the dealings of the Thieves Guild will bring trouble from both lawmen and the Thieves Guild alike, but Kurche may be able to ferret out some clue if she says the right thing to the right person. And if it turns out to be a dead end, Burrett's a better place than most to pick up a new rumor.
The town of Burrett is open but secure - while passage through is easy to obtain, the village is decently defended with palisades that form a wall stretching about a mile long on all sides, and a wide gate with ropes to close it in the event of a raid by a band of Goblins or roaming Orcs less civil than Kurche and her kin. Lightly armored Human guards occasionally pace back and forth but for the most part lean against the wooden barricade, leather caps starting to warm up in the steady sunlight. One of these guards notices Kurche's approach and straightens, a look of uncertainty on his slightly furrowed brow.
"Hail, traveler. What brings you to these parts, and on your own or with company? I trust you plan to cause no trouble, Orc," he says, with a tone that suggests that he doesn't trust that at all.