Deepfell
| |
| Deepfell | |
| INFORMATION | |
| Region: |
Deepfell |
| Local Name(s): |
The Lake Town, City of Deepfell, Barge Town |
| Dominant Terrain: |
Marshy fens, stagnant water, river fork |
| Natives: | |
| Population: |
Approximately 4,000
|
| Population Breakdown: |
|
| Transient Breakdown: |
|
| Languages: |
Deepfell |
| Government: |
Landed Oligarchy
|
| Currency: |
Deepfell Tag |
| END | |
| Template:Regions | |
Terrain
Government
Heads of State
Religions
Church of Graelle & Avishan
Orthodoxy
Reformism
Draigwright
This very old religion is older than most others but is newer to these shores. Draigwright is dragon worship and it has a pantheon of good and evil Gods. It is a warlike religion that encourages plunder, and appeals to fire and brimstone law as well as the avarice of its followers. It is religion that does implicitly state that greed is good as long as the dragons get their cut. Draigwright is its own worst enemy as "good" followers battle "evil" followers. The "good" dragons have cleric themes around light, knowledge, life, healing and wealth while the "evil" dragons work around death, night, fear, wealth, etc.
Church of the Drowning Gods
These are old Gods that come from pre-Church of Graelle days and around the time of Draigwright. They are largely elemental in nature with common themes of storms, seafaring, travel, death, fortune, and the ocean. They have added local river gods to the pantheon.
Druidism and Nature Worship
Cult of the Deep Ones
The Deep Ones are a doomsday cult patterned on the utterly alien, cosmic horror of a being like Cthulhu. There are five of them, said to be impossibly ancient and impossible for a mortal mind to comprehend without going mad. Those that touch the Deep Ones mystically or psychically begin to warp into strange half-fish people. The Deep Ones have been a long-standing problem in Cold Harbor and in Deepfell. They are the most common patron for Warlocks and the most common lineage for Sorcerors.
Magic Use
While Deepfell has a few Churches to various Gods- most oriented to trade, travel and seafaring- Magic is not that common in Deepfell. An act of magic will surprise a Lake Person and their response could range from distrust to curiosity, to avoidance. Between Arcane magick and Theurgy (divine magic), Lake People are slightly more comfortable with Theurgy as long as it comes from a benign source. Deepfell has no native Arcane schools outside of Alchemy and thus, such trained people- even if once Native- probably had to go to Cold Harbor, go abroad or find a local master to apprentice with.
Clerics and Paladins
Lake People tend to be blase about religion and the divine in general, but they are also a superstitious lot. If you can get a God on your side for a safe voyage or a good business deal, then why not pay lip service? These Theurgists get the most leeway in the city and may be given favors or reduced fares for blessings and help. Being among these is the most likely path to magic that is looked on favorably by the populace at large, despite being seen as slightly odd.
Druids
Few Deepfellings "go native" and become Druids. Druidism is more common along the Veldtmen and the High Clan lineages. But Druids can gain respect from Deepfellings- especially if their magicks are oriented to plants and water. Druids are just seen as odd and "backward" but the generally Pragmatic Lake People give most Druids a pass, judging them individually.
Sorcerors and Warlocks
Superstition backed by dark history make Lake People deeply suspect of those that make pacts with the unknown, or have somehow been cursed. Deepfell has had to dislodge the cultists of The Deep Ones more than once. Sea, Annis, Storm, and Green Hag Covens are mythical problems for the town. And the fickleness of the Fey is remembered in Bardsong. But there is also a degree of envy here: Lake People don't like people having patrons that give potential rivals an edge. Most Warlocks and Sorcerors have to keep their true origins under wraps or they could be expelled. Warlocks and Sorcerors known to belong to the Deep Ones are summarily dealt with in the Fell Cages.
Abjurers and Diviners
These Arcane Spellcasters, while not having any native schools to learn at, are often imported and employed by the local Merchant Houses and Guilds. Guilds and merchants like to protect their businesses and forecast their fortunes. Both of these wizard types can find a comfortable life in Deepfell and will seldom want for the business. Their usefulness tends to dominate in the generally superstitious populace. But the average Lake Person, who cannot hope to pay their fees, may treat these Wizards with respect on the face- and charge them double. And there are always the overly envious who dislike these magic users based on their abilities alone.
Necromancers and Evocationists
Would you like a slow, muddy, suffocating death by drowning? Then throw around fireballs or walk into town with undead servants. The Lake People have a Fell Cage waiting for you, no pesky trial necessary! While Deepfelling hatred for necromancers is entirely based on stories and myths, their hatred of fire wizards is one of pure practicality. Their city is almost overwhelmingly made of wood and rope, built on timber. The hatred toward death wizards is much less formed and seems to be a kneejerk, residual reverence for the dead. Here, Lake People pragmatism seems to take a back seat. Corpses are somehow not just an empty shell. And Lake People are superstitious of ghosts and spirits.
Alchemists
Despite an overall dodgy reputation, Alchemists are a welcome form of homebrewed arcane user. Perhaps it is the concrete understanding that a potion is a bottled, one-use spell that anyone can use avoids the typical envy towards other Arcanists. Its a solid example of magic, not ethereal guesswork. Apothecaries are a necessary fixture in society, as healers. Brewers are a natural outgrowing of the distilling and beer businesses. And Poisoners find a ready business for the envious and upwardly mobile Merchants and Guilds- not for murder, of course. Just to temporarily get a rival out of the way. And if ever an Alchemist could truly transmute lead into gold? The only Alchemists who are likely to be run out of town or sent to a Fell Cage are those that dabble in Black Powder.
The Rest
Powerful Establishments
Churches
Workhouses
Orphanages
Guildhouses
Apothecary's Guild
Carpenter's Guild
The Shipwrights
Docking Guild
Dockmaster's Guild
Lending Houses
Mariner's Guild
Mining Guild
Tavern Guild
Weaver's Guild
Merchants
Organized Crime
Crime Families
Gangs
Fencing Guild
Thieves Guild
Assassin's Guild
Lake Irregulars
Courts of Justice
Jails
Bard Colleges
College of Whispers
College of Yarns
College of the Boards
College of Minstrels
College of Dirges
Common Trades
Merchants
Sailors
Craftsmen
Laborers
Sellswords
Entertainers
Sex Work
Pragmatism rules in Deepfell. It's impossible to get rid of the world's oldest profession. So Deepfell tolerates it and has a guild that regulates it. In Deepfell, the only legitimate sex workers belong to a "Docking Guild" to whom they pay a portion of their profits for protection, advertisement, and when necessary, medicine or contraception. Unlicensed sex workers have no such protections and are violating the rights of the Docking Guild.
Taverns versus Dockinghouses
The average licensed sex worker does not work out of a Tavern. Those comely wenches and serving boys are either not sex workers, or are under the table and unlicensed. Licensed Docking Workers already pay overhead to the Guild and so they can't afford further overhead from a Tavern. Taverns have a varied approach to sex work. What their patrons do is their business as long as they are paying customers. But if serving boys and wenches are making money on the side in sex work, the Tavern's owners likely expect a cut (since that is time they aren't serving). Other taverns want nothing to do with the whole messy business and prefer to keep sex workers out of their establishments.
Dockinghouses are Guild-run establishments that cooperate with the Tavern Guilds. These taverns and inns are sanctioned places for licensed sex workers to ply their trade in relative safety. Most rent rooms as a semi-permanent residence and work in the Dockinghouse as a server or entertainers. It is assumed that most workers in a Dockinghouse are "on the menu" unless they are wearing a black hat or a black collar.