Port Demesne: A Safe Harbor in a Shattered World

[Sam113097]

Hello! I've been building this setting/city collaboratively with my players (using Beak, Feather, and Bone, a city-making RPG) for a Dungeon World campaign. I figured I'd post what I have to get some feedback/share some ideas!

Port Demesne

Port Demesne is a floating city, surrounded by the drifting ruins of a world that has collapsed. The vibrant floating city hangs in the sky between the roiling red Fell earth below it and the brilliant clouds of the Firmament above, a remnant of a material plane that was abandoned by its gods and crumbled away. After the Collapse, Port Demesne’s residents stubbornly refused to let their city crumble; riding feathered sky-serpents and wielding the last sparks of their broken plane’s magic, the Port’s people brave the shards of the old world that drift near their home, collecting stones, seeds, and any magical relics they can find.

In the one hundred and twenty years since the Collapse, Port Demesne has boomed into a thriving city in the clouds. Influenced by refugees from an old empire called Meridia, Port Demesne’s crowded tenement buildings have taken on an intricate, baroque-style appearance, with painted frescoes adorning their walls. From rooftop gardens to the massive Arboretum near Port Demesne’s central Plaza, the entire city is coated in greenery. The inverted mountain of earth that hangs beneath the Port is ringed by a maze of stone pathways and wooden scaffolding and criss-crossed with tunnels. Through it all, the people of Port Demesne, a colorful mix of cultures and races, have made their home a safe harbor in a shattered plane. What brings you to the Port?

Spoiler: Questions and Answers (Basic World Info)

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What happened to the world? Why is it broken?

The world of Port Demesne (which, if you want to get technical, is named Allu) used to hang in space at the point where the Firmament (the realm of the sky-goddess, usually called the Sister) met the Fell (the domain of the earth-god, the Brother).

Long ago, these twin gods sent a whole crew of minor gods as heralds to guide the mortal peoples of Allu, and they went bad. Really bad. We’re talking “declared themselves the god-kings of the mortals they were sent to teach” bad. At that point, a third god, a cryptic presence called the Elder, intervened and gave mortals the power to fight back against the heralds. Allu’s mortal peoples won, but with the death of each herald, the connection that the world had with the sky-goddess and the earth-god weakened.

When the last eight heralds were destroyed about a hundred and twenty years ago, the world began to collapse, with chunks of the planet’s surface either getting sucked up into the Firmament or crumbling into the Fell. Nevertheless, the people of this world found a way to survive.

What keeps Port Demesne from falling?

During the Collapse, two factors helped the people of this world survive. First was the magic still left in the world itself. Places with close ties to magic, places with powerful artifacts, and places where magical entities reside did not fall. Around the world, creatures like the great Thunderbird, the mountain spirit Dao, and the revered Hymn-Beast that have ties to mortals provided enough magic to the settlements around them that they did not fall. Port Demesne is held up by one such magical entity, a feathered sky-serpent called Quetzalcoatl that nests in the floating stones that were once the mountains that surrounded the Port.

The second factor is the last herald. In the days before the Collapse, the Elder sent a minor god of its own as a desperate attempt to hold the world together. A group of adventurers took her under her wing, kept her out of trouble (this point is widely disputed) and she turned out more-or-less alright. A bit chaotic, but deeply good. They say the last herald wanders from floating village to floating village in a black, wide brimmed hat, using her magic to patch up any settlement in need of help.

Between these two sources of magic, the world’s doing alright.

Who are the gods of this world?

Great question! The folks of Port Demesne sure would love to know too. The sky-goddess (the Sister), the earth-god (the Brother), and the unknown god (the Elder) have left this world, and their magic is gone. These days, some people worship powerful spirits like the Quetzalcoatl. Others in the Port honor the Driftwood Door, the gate to this world’s briny afterlife, and San Jacobo, the ferryman that takes the dead across the endless waves beyond the Driftwood Door. However, none of these spirits are gods.

How do people travel between floating islands?

There are two main ways of traveling to the floating isles around Port Demesne.

The first way is to wrangle yourself up a couatl. These minor sky spirits, which take the form of brilliantly-colored feathered serpents, live in and around the domain of the Quetzalcoatl, in the cliffs beneath the Port and the drifting stones around it. The bigger ones can carry half a dozen people, but they’re temperamental and won’t carry just anybody.

The second way is to sail a disk-ship. Before the Collapse, Port Demesne housed a magician, Tenser, that was known for his use of hovering disks of solid energy. After the Collapse, the people of the Port found a way to build these disks - which were once thought useless and served mainly as floating stages in Tenser’s Theater - into small sailing ships. Diskships are slow, dependent on the winds, and if your disk cracks, you’re done for, but they get the job done in most cases.

How does magic work here?

Port Demesne hangs in the sky of a world that has lost much of the magic that once infused the plane. The sparks that remain are usually contained within artifacts or held by beings of power, and mortals can't really just "do" magic anymore. Most magic requires petitioning a spirit of some kind to perform supernatural effects for you or can only be done by tapping into the power of some ancient relic. Priests have a longstanding relationship with one spirit that grants them power, while magicians play fast and loose, summoning different spirits as needed (which some folks see as careless).

Spoiler: Cultures of Port Demesne

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The Port is home to seven lineages of mortal folk: humans, dragonborn, dwarves, elves, gnomes (or, as they now call themselves, umbrans or shadow-kin), a smattering of ravenfolk, and tritons (still known to many as Far Traders). There are also planetouched, but we’ll get to them later. These peoples, all refugees of the same great Collapse, have no choice but to share Port Demesne and are more or less at peace right now.

Humans are, well, human. Before the Collapse, they spread from one corner of the world to the other. They can master any calling, use any form of magic they wish, and survive damn near anything. Notable human cultures in Port Demesne include Asherites (once-nomadic shepherds that worship a lost god), Meridians (colorfully-clad traders from an old empire) and Midonai (trophy-collecting islanders).

Dragonborn were found deep in the jungles of Meridia and other isolated parts of the world before the Collapse. They're big, tough, and spit out elemental blasts. Dragonborn are some of the most fearsome mercenaries in the Port Demesne, but their vibrantly-colored feathers and scales provide little protection from the Port’s cold fog.

Dwarves are known for their skilled craftsmanship and their ability to eat just about anything. Their skin resembles polished stone, and varies in hue from sand-red to granite, as does their hair. Many have small crystals jutting from their skin in places. Dwarves do not age normally; rather, they begin to petrify. The oldest dwarves appear almost like statues, and move very little. Also, they eat rocks sometimes.

Elves are wanderers, and rarely stay in one place for long, if they can. As beings touched by wild sky-magic elves are long-lived nomads that go wherever the wind takes them, always seeking new experiences. Their thin, wispy features, skin that ranges from sunset-gold to dusk-gray, and star-lit eyes make it seem as if they could drift away on a breeze at a moment’s notice.

Before the Collapse, gnomes had a deep connection to magic; it was part of their very beings. And what happens to folks made of magic when magic goes crazy? Well, if you’re a gnome, you end up as a vaguely gnome-shaped figure made of shadow with glowing eyes. Most gnomes in the Port sport large, wide-brimmed hats (brought by refugees from an old Meridian colony) to make their shadowy dark blue features easier to see.

Planetouched are members of the other mortal races that have been changed by exposure to some form of powerful magic. The most common form of planetouched are the tieflings (survivors of a war between fallen gods, left with horns and other demonic traits), but Port Demesne is also home to folks touched by holy magic, elements like fire or water, and other, more occult powers.

The legends say that, millennia ago, the ravenfolk served the sky-goddess, and somehow angered her; as a divine punishment, they say she took the source of their pride: their wings. These days, the ravenfolk of Port Demesne don’t know much about all that, but those wings sure would be useful right about now. They tend to be cautious and speak very little (to the point that others might think the goddess took their voices too).

Before the world crumbled and the seas fell away, strange ships manned by tritons used to dock at Port Demesne, bearing goods from distant shores. Often called Far Traders, the tritons, who onced lived in floating villages at sea, now find themselves stranded on islands in the sky. The Far Traders are a relaxed, informal lot that love to trade, haggle, and joke, but many carry a deep longing for their lost home, the sea.

Spoiler: Map of Port Demesne (Contains Large Image)

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Spoiler: Places of Port Demesne (Map Key)

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1. Cairn Hill

A road lined with rune-carved standing stones and menhirs leads to the old temple atop Cairn Hill. The temple itself is a run-down structure of crumbling stone, built around a brass brazier that once held a portion of the Ever-Burning Flame. Wind whips through the temple's empty windows, and a family of couatls nests in the temple's rafters. Within Cairn Hill, the folks of Port Demesne have set up shrines to the various spirits that have become figures of worship since the collapse. Dripping candles and burning incense surround shrines to San Jacobo and the Driftwood Door, Quetzalcoatl, Ribbadon, and the Great Dragon Aeolus.

Beneath Cairn Hill, in the temple's old cellar and tomb, the Freebooters run the Port's black market. It's an open secret that a stone beneath a broken statue's boots in the temple hides a ladder down to a maze-like bazaar, with fences selling their wares among the crypts and stolen goods arrayed on top of barrels and chunks of the old temple's foundation.

2. Kingfisher Farm

Out on one of the most far-flung isles in the Shatterfields, Kingfisher Farm produces hardy crops that thrive in the Port's cool misty weather and can be grown outside the Arboretum's greenhouses - things like pumpkins, turnips, onions, and other root vegetables. Two things make Kingfisher Farm notable: Firstly, the ravenfolk of the Kingfisher family are Port Demesne's foremost beekeepers, and they've carved dozens of apiaries into the sides of the Shatterfield rock they call home. Secondly, some folks say they've seen grey-cloaked Pilgrims of the Last Faith among the beehives there.

3. Risen Green Fairgrounds

During the Collapse, part of the grassy hillside south of Cairn Hill broke away, creating a free-floating field, dotted with standing stones and scattered fir trees. It's become the closest thing Port Demesne's got to a park. Reachable by steep, rickety staircases of wood and rope or on couatl-back, the Risen Green's a great place for sport or relaxation, and it's even got a nice statuary garden memorializing heroes from the Port's past (paid for, of course, by the benevolent Bywater Trading Co.)

4. Wellspring Mining District

Located in the hills in the northwest part of town, the Wellspring Mines are the primary way of accessing the scaffolding and tunnels that wind their way around the underside of Port Demesne. On the surface of the Port, the Mining District is a collection of mud-encrusted wooden buildings, stacks of crates, and complicated elevators and pulley systems that take miners and ore in and out of the tunnels below (the largest of these elevators is powered by the Bywater Family's prized Iron Golem - a priceless treasure recovered from a passing ruin). The Bywater Trading Co. funds the excavations in the Wellspring Mining District, and has recently invested heavily in a dig that recently uncovered an ancient library buried in the earth.

5. Arboretum Winery

In the first few years after the Collapse, the folks of Port Demesne scrambled to find a way to feed their isolated and growing population, especially in the Port's wet, misty winter months. Their answer was the Arboretum: a massive, multi-leveled greenhouse where peoples from all lineages and cultures can grow the seeds they brought with them to the Port. The Arboretums's ground floor is a massive orchard which is surrounded by mezzanines full of different fruits and other crops. Inside the Arboretum sits its Winery, a tall, round structure with tables and comfortable cushioned chairs spread across various floors built within an old silo, with a cellar below. Inside, some of the Port's most prominent Elders can often be found.

6. Coldhooks Tenement

Coldhooks, once Port Demesne's primary meatpacking and fishmongering district, saw its warehouses converted into tenements and living spaces for refugees after the Collapse. The neighborhood's brownstone storehouses now contain maze-like apartments and living quarters for a big chunk of the Port's population, and many of Coldhooks' run-down buildings are abuzz with activity, surrounded by small gardens, and covered by murals and art made by refugees from many cultures. Coldhooks Tenement No. 1 is the most prominent building in the borough - it houses many of the Elders that still preserve the legends and lore of their homelands, and even a few - elves, dwarves, and the like - that recall the time before the Collapse.

7. Gallus Manor

Lord Gallus, a dwarvish landowner of some renown, owns a stately manor on Barony Row. The defining feature of Gallus Manor, an imposing structure of square columns built around a courtyard, is the fact that it is made of dozens of different types of stone - because supplies are limited after the Collapse and much of the Port's building materials are taken from passing remnants of other places, the Manor was built with stones of all sorts of colors as they were scavenged. It is said that Gallus Manor's drawn-out construction allowed the prideful Lord Gallus to hide a number of chambers and tunnels throughout the estate.

8. Burnt Chapel

On the northern side of Coldhooks, there once stood an small old church - a place of worship of the Brother and Sister, for those that did not travel to the larger structure on Cairn Hill often. The chapel was abandoned in the decades after the Collapse, and a few years ago, the deserted building burnt down - no one is quite sure how - Freebooters deal gone bad? Stargazers get into something they shouldn't have? The Augury Corps looking for loot? In any case, all that's known is that witnesses say that they believe someone was in there when it burned, and that the grey cloaks of the Pilgrims seem to haunt the Burnt Chapel to this day.

9. Far-Trader Fair

At the heart of Port Demesne, a colorful jumble of patched pavilions and stands make up the Port's market, the Far-Trader Fair. The Fair once hosted Far Trader (triton) merchants from across the seas, and has now become a grand marketplace for the craftspeople and traders from different regions that now call the Port home. It's a bustling place, full of fire-breathing dragonborn street performers, foods from Meridia, the Solstones, the Bedlam Wilds and beyond, and traders hawking their wares in the common tongue and other languages.

Notable merchants with stands at the Far-Trader Fair include:
- Rook - This imposing blue dragonborn has got to be the least sociable person at the Far-Trader Fair. Many customers have had their ill-informed questions met with nothing but an ill-tempered glare from the Port's foremost weapon-smith. People put up with Rook because she's the best at what she does: crafting the sharpest blades in Port Demesne.
- Quill Kala - You need something odd? Quill, a twitchy little ravenfolk with rumpled auburn feathers, is your man. Give him a few days, and Quill can find you damn near anything you ask for. Just don't ask where he got it. Or why someone said they saw him sneaking into Cairn Hill's cellar last night. Thank him for the deal, and be about your business.

10. The Pestle & Mortar

The green dragonborn potion-maker and Stargazer Nakobi runs an apothecary called the Pestle and Mortar near the Far-Trader Fair. The shop is a cluttered brownstone building of several stories sandwiched between houses, with an intricately carved wooden front door showing a pestle and mortar with a number of alchemical ingredients. Inside, the air is filled with strange scents, and the entire shop is a mess of hanging herbs and jars full of monster parts stacked on high shelves in the narrow building. In addition to selling salves and poisons, Nakobi claims the Pestle and Mortar is also a "wellness spa," whatever that means, and among other things, offers strange oils and a "healing bath" heated by a small fire elemental.

11. Storm's Edge Archive

Pre-Collapse, Storm's Edge was a coastal fort, a bulwark of briny stone built to protect the Port's resident's. After the world fell apart, the people of Port Demesne bristled for another attack that never came, and gradually, the fort fell into disrepair. Now, the Elders of Prot Demesne have found another use for the blocky stone tower: as a place to remember what the world once was. Storm's Edge is now an archive, a museum of sorts; there, Elders of the various lineages that call the Port home display tapestries, art, and other works from their various homelands. The fort's courtyard has even become a venue for musical performances to preserve old songs.

12. Tethered Altar

A couple years back, a circular ruin floated over Port Demesne, glowing with ethereal purple light. An enterprising adventurer by the name of Calumny Keene recognized the value of the place and managed to tie the passing structure to a massive tree at the edge of Seafret Wood with a mess of ropes and enchanted chains. Accessible only by rickety rope-ladder, the Tethered Altar's central stone circle allows the folks of Port Demesne to transfer magical effects from scavenged artifacts and re-enchant others, a valuable service in a world where magic has waned. The Altar's become a hotspot for Augury Corps members, Stargazers, and others looking to swap enchantments and magic items.

13. The Keelboat

Without an ocean, there's not much of a purpose for large vessels; the smaller ones could be retrofitted into hovering discships, but many of the large ones were left beached. The Keelboat is the hull of one such old ship, which the enterprising folk of Port Demesne found use for by flipping it over and turning it into a tavern. The Keelboat is now a busy gathering place for the Augury Corp, a chaotic mess of hammocks hanging from what once were lower decks, chairs made of old masts, and rowdy patrons from all across the Port. The Keelboat's owner, an old dwarf called Alvarado, has painted the tavern's hull/roof and stone foundation in bright blue, red, and teal colors, making the ship an instantly-visible landmark to the locals of Port Demesne.

14. The Seafret Walker's Inn

A bit of a pub, a bit of a base camp, the Seafret Walker's Inn is a meetingplace for members of the Stargazer's Guild as they prepare to delve into the forested rise of the Seafret Wood. The old brown stone inn is coated in vines and older than the Collapse; it's cozy interior is dominated by a large hearth and some of the Stargazers' odder finds - an unidentified blue skull from some monster hangs on one wall, while another is lined with chipped old artifacts that have lost their magic. The Seafret Walker's Inn, which sells all kinds of brews in addition to adventuring gear, is run by a thin, bespectacled planetouched member of the Stargazer's Guild named Upton Reed.

15. The Hellfire Lounge

In an unassuming round building near the Salvage Yard, something a passerby might think is a storehouse, sits one of the Freebooters' main "business ventures" in Port Demesne: Hellfire. In the Lounge's underground den, some of the Port's more eccentric types make use of strange mushrooms and arcane herbs pulled from Seafret Wood or picked up by Salvage Teams. The Hellfire Lounge* is run by a Freebooter elf named Imerra Redvin, and is a good place to look for the Gnomish thief, Xellin Rolle. Despite being a bit of an open secret, the Elders have so far failed to interfere with the Redvin and her Lounge. Curious...

16. The Relic Repository

Surrounded by piles of scavenged stone, stacks of timber, and the hustle and bustle of the Port's salvage operation, the Relic Repository acts as a rendezvous point for the Augury Corps and other adventurers that might come to Port Demesne. Inside, an excitable gnome named Lorenzo Azar oversees the Augury Corps' equipment stores and, perhaps most importantly, a library of small magical relics with useful enchantments. Behind the Repository's counter, Lorenzo climbs up and down a rolling ladder to access rows and rows of boxes of varying sizes and shapes, organized in a way that makes sense only to him. Honestly, no one's quite sure of everything he's got back there. When asked for a recommendation for a magic item to rent, the gnome invariably suggests an artifact that seems completely useless for the task at hand.

17. Augury Hall

Augury Hall wasn't always part of Port Demesne. By a quirk of fate, soon after the Collapse, a floating isle carrying a well-preserved monastery of tan stone collided with the Port. Inside, intrepid adventurers found a great brass brazier in the monastery's central chamber, once used by monks of the Elder, who would cast sacrifices into the flames to receive auguries (omens) - thus, the monastery got its name. Eventually, the adventurers that scoped out the place started using the monastery, with its dormitories, storehouse, and kitchens, as a base of operations, becoming the Port's Augury Corps. Now led by Hallett Black and a team of experienced adventurers, the Corps serve as mercenaries, first responders, and scavengers.

18. Seafret Wood

Named for the mists that once rolled through the Wood from the sea, Seafret Wood is now full of mist from the clouds that pass through Port Demesne. The island's forest is surprisingly dense, full of old growth, mossy firs, and thick ferns. In the deepest parts of Seafret Wood, the forested rise dips down into a small hollow or valley, which is often the destination for Stargazer Guild hikers. The Wood's combination of lush vegetation and heavy mist make it a great place to search for valuable mushrooms and prized alchemical ingredients. For the Stargazers Guild, it’s also a place to find peace and tranquility as they search for magical connection.

19. Bywater Estate

In a Port where water is a valuable resource, caught in rain cisterns and collected from waterfalls falling from islands far above, the Bywater Estate displays the family’s wealth through reflecting pools, fountains, and other water features. The home of the Bywater Trading Co.’s owner family is built largely of polished and carved wood, decorated with rare colorful coral. It’s know for hosting balls and lavish celebrations.

20. The Plaza

Officially the Plaza of Progress but more widely called simply the Plaza, this spacious square sits right at in the middle of Port Demesne; its stone tiles are etched with wave patterns and sea creatures. The northwest corner of the Plaza is split by the rift dividing Port Demesne in two, and is held together by a patchwork web of wooden bridges. The mithril-wrought Fountain of Progress stands in the center of the plaza and depicts a powerful triton ancestor of some kind or another.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any feedback and am happy to answer questions!

[Sam113097]

Spoiler: Factions of Port Demesne

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The Freebooters

Sure, Port Demesne has nobles, folks like the lords and ladies of Barony Row, but everybody knows who really runs the city: the thieves' guild known as the Freebooters. The Freebooters have a hand in every major enterprise in the Port; it's an open secret that Cairn Hill, the old temple, sits on top of the Freebooters' main smuggling operation, and rumor has it that they even have their hooks in a leader of Augury Hall. Nasty business.

Major Known Characters:
- Xellin Rolle - Steal from the rich and give to the poor, right? No thanks; for this gnomish burglar, it's steal from the mages, sell to the highest bidder, and make herself the richest Freebooter in the Port.

Major Known Locations:
- Cairn Hill
- Augury Hall
- Hellfire Lounge

The Port Elders

Before the Collapse, the oldest among the different lineages of Port Demesne were revered for their wisdom and, most importantly, for their mastery of magic, learned over a lifetime. The world has changed, though, and it's a young man's game these days. Still, people forget that some of the Port Elders, half-forgotten in an old Coldhooks tenement, know more about magic than the entire Augury Corps combined. And there's something odd about that musuem they're working on in the old fort.

Major Known Characters:
- Pontus Pax - Definitely the oldest elf anyone's every seen. Proud, arrogant, and prone to long tangents, but if you can get him to warm up with you (perhaps with a little sample from the Arboretum Winery), you'll find he knows a thing or two

Major Known Locations:
-Coldhooks Tenement
-Storm's Edge Archive
-Arboretum Winery

The Augury Corps

Port Demesne's de-facto lawmen and protectors, the Augury Corps is a loose collection of salvagers and adventurers that operate out of Augury Hall. The Corps maintain several Salvage Teams, tasked with scooping up valuable resources from islands that drift past Port Demesne, including my campaign's party. The Corps are also the people to ask if you need a dangerous odd job done.

Major Known Characters:
-Hallett Black - Augury Captain, leader of the Corps. Big human, carries trophies of past adventures in accordance with his Midonaic heritage. Has no need for weapons - one of those relics of his lets him encase his fists in living stone

- Salvage Team B - The more "polished" and "professional" of the Corps' minor teams;
--- "Sir" Everard Bell - self-styled "leader" of Salvage Team B. Asherite Human Paladin, son of a minor noble family. More ego than sense
--- Kallan Alcon - Ravenfolk Ranger and probably the actual brains behind Salvage Team B. Rarely talks. Said to be the best shot in the islands
--- Marcell - Triton Thief, fan of knife tricks; quite pleased that she was placed in Salvage Team B while her "little cousin," the party's fighter, ended up on Team C. (The two grew up on the streets of Coldhooks at the same time)
--- Venery Gray - Dwarvish Cleric of a flame-spirit. Living embodiment of "holier-than-thou." Good with a mace, for what it's worth

-Salvage Team C - The party members of my campaign

Major Known Locations:
-Augury Hall
-Relic Repository
-The Keelboat
-The Tethered Altar

Bywater Trading Co.

The Bywater Trading Company stands out among the merchant class of Port Demesne. The Bywaters, an old Far Trader family line, are ruthless competitors, always looking for an edge over the competition. The Bywater's shipping operation was the first to adopt floating disc-ships after the Collapse, funds its own salvage expeditions and mercenary crews in competition with Augury Hall, and is currently expanding into a new and potentially highly profitable business: the pursuit of ancient knowledge best left forgotten. Anything for more coin, right?

Major Known Characters:
-Lady Bywater - Current head of the largest merchant operation in the Port. An old triton, and probably the richest person in Port Demesne. Owns half of Barony Row, and a disc-ship yacht fit for royalty.

Major Known Locations:
-The Wellspring Mines
-Risen Green Fairgrounds
-Bywater Estate

The Stargazers' Guild

The Stargazers are the closest thing the Port has to a mage's guild, which isn't saying much, when you consider how hard magic is to access after the Collapse. Not many of the Stargazers' Guild members can sling spells by themselves, but there are others ways of gaining power. From potions and poultices in the Mortar and Pestle to expeditions into the Seafret Woods, many Stargazers seek to tap into the magic that remains in the world around them. The few Stargazers that openly use magic these days are highly secretive about where they get if from - that's probably fine though, right?

Major Known Characters:
-Nakobi - the green dragonborn owner of the Mortar and Pestle, the Port's primary potion brewery and, according to Nakobi, "wellness spa." Nakobi is a leader among the Stargazers' Guild, and spends a lot of time in the Seafret Wood. She'll pay good coin for rare alchemical reagents.

Major Known Locations:
-The Mortar and Pestle
-The Seafret Walker's Inn

Pilgrims of the Last Faith

Rumors surrounding the so-called "Last Faith" abound in Port Demesne. It is said that the Last Faith's Pilgrims have insinuated themselves among the people of the Port, amassing power and searching for ways to re-connect to the gods, particularly the Elder. Some folks dismiss these rumors, but others have seen grey-cloaked figures near the Burnt Chapel in the Coldhooks District at night, and some around town say they've seen Lord Gallus, one of the Port's most prominent leaders, among them. He of course denies all such accusations.

Major Known Characters:
-Lord Gallus - Gallus, a Dwarvish lord of some renown, is heavily invested in Port Demesne's farming trade, and owns a good deal of land out in the Shatterfields, including Kingfisher Farm. Bringing up the persistent rumor about his involvement in the Last Faith is sure to set off his well-known temper.

-The Wight - In recent months, a Pilgrim known as the Wight has began a crusade against Port Demesne's merchants. Someone is feeding the traders bad information, promising new resources to lead them into ambushes. The few sky-borne sailors that have survived bring back reports of a dead man in grey Pilgrim robes, clinging on to life through unknown means, as the one behind it. Scary stuff.

Major Known Locations:
-Gallus Manor
-Kingfisher Farm
-Burnt Chapel

Spoiler: People of Port Demesne (Character Guide)

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WORK IN PROGRESS

I'll add more to this post as the setting grows!

[brian 333]

Proposal:
Duke vonBlau, also known as The Blue Duke, (derrogatively,) for his dark blue leather jacket and matching skull-tight cap with a chin strap and ear-flaps which sports a pair of large goggles of mirrored crystal. He keeps heavy gray gauntlets in his belt, wears bloused grey pantaloons of heavy wool, and elegantly stitched, heeled riding boots. His shirt and elaborate scarf are powder blue. His buttons and buckles are of polished silver.
He carries a device unknown to the local population. It is a tube with a handle and a loop where they are joined large enough to insert the tip of his finger. This black metal device is carried in a leather pocket attached to his belt and concealed by the lower skirts of his jacket when he is wearing it.

The stories told of this flamboyant figure say that he appeared in the sky one day in a winged boat which was in the process of falling. He was able to land it by crashing into the Risen Green park. He was able, with some help from the locals, to move the wreck to the windward side of the park where a cliff overlooks the fell below. There he built a workshop over his craft and has ever since been engaged in its repair. He is unable to get its 'engine' operating, though he appears to have rebuilt the wooden frame and its large upper wing which is supported by a smaller pair of wings which sprout to either side, with a third, even smaller wing beneath the craft between two soft, round wheels. Three wings at the rear of the craft, one vertical and two horizontal, are mounted on swivels, their movement controlled by metal ropes and a complicated arrangements of pulleys.

At the forward end of the craft, a pair of long, thin wings are attached to a rotating shaft, and they appear to be fixed at a 90 degree angle to all of the other wings. He claims his 'engine' would rotate these wings, which would somehow make his craft fly, but to this day all it has done is sputter and emit foul smokes.

He had a supply of silver and gold coins of strange design, and has funded his workshop through adventuring, but he is said to be insane, and fixated on his flying machine which does not fly. He developed a kind of one-person flying craft he calls a glider, and has been selling them, teaching their purchasers how to launch them, use updrafts and prevailing winds to get these fragile, long-winged craft to go to their destinations, and to land them. By far, the most common outcome is an eventual landing too rough for the vehicle which destroys it. Some have launched, only to slowly glide downward into the Fell, sometimes taking many hours or even as much as a day to be lost to sight. For the fortunate pilots, a feathered serpent may fly down to the rescue.

Proposal: Lifter's Guild
Debris which floats can be a source of wealth, for those who can mine it.

Flotsam is captured by Guild Gatherers and brought to their processing facility beneath Seafret Harbor. Using secret processes, the Guild Refiners extract the secret elements which cause matter to float. Any useful materials, especially metals, is refined and placed on the market, while the dross is simply dumped into The Fells. Guild Artificers then craft Lifting Bodies for vessels designed to travel between floating masses. These designs allow the craft to be raised and lowered, but each lifting body can only carry a certain amount of weight. Shipwrights then design and construct vessels utilizing a number of lifting bodies.

Navigators belong to a separate guild, as do Merchant and Military Officers who operate these vessels. Such vessels, even small ones, are extremely expensive to construct and operate. Their reliance upon shipyards for maintenance and the limited availability of skilled crew make them rare, but they are a vital link in local and regional economies.