All about Heirwater

Ready for a context dump? Here we go...


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HEIRWATER, or the River-Spirit City, or Tyrant's Whimsy, or Booktown, or the Royal City of the Heir of the Kingdom of Marka


Population:
About 12,000, mostly humans, with a sizable minority of other races (45%). Professions include beggars and criminals, prisoners, servants, laborers, tradesmen, entertainers, guards, craftsmen, merchants, students, academics, magic-users, nobles, lords, and royalty, with a strong bias towards humans as you rise up the social order.


Region:
A temperate climate, with a tendency toward drizzly, overcast, foggy days. (But plenty of warmer weather mixed in, especially around the summer festival of Riverthanks.) It’s damp, with a persistent smell of pine and damp and wood and stone. Moss has a tendency to grow on the side of stone buildings. The long curve of a River Heirwater follows a gentle valley, with the rest of the city sloping up from the river's bank. Nearby is rambling forest and farmland for miles, with the two low ranges of mountains known as Caiya and Breiya reaching like arms to the northeast and northwest.


Government:
An absolute monarchy, ruled by the Heir of Marka, son of the King of Marka. Heirwater is the crown prince's sovereign domain, to do as he wishes with. In royal tradition, the Heir's success in governing the city will prove his right to rule the kingdom of Marka upon his father's death. The Heir's royal council is made up of three advisors appointed by the King (Tutors of the Heir) and two advisors appointed by the heir (Friends of the Heir). The Tutors and Friends each govern one of the five sections of the city with varying degrees of honesty and severity. The court of the Heir is filled with notables from throughout the city, seeking the favor of the autocrat for their own personal aims.


Defense:
Heirwater is a walled city, with not one but two armies of royal guards protecting its every gate and bridge. The noble houses of Montulet and Fortesqueue were appointed in antiquity to guard the Heir. Each has manors, fortresses, and guards throughout the city, and would protect the Heir to the death... as long as they're not too busy dueling each other over petty squabbles born of their mutual hatred for one another.


Commerce:
In a city the size of Heirwater, commerce thrives—and none more so than the six shops that ring the great market square. "Shops," of course, is a term of antiquity for what have become major forces of trade and repute within the city and the Kingdom at large. The six shops are Bellworthey's (bank and moneylender), The Iron Triangle (arms and metalwork), Mme Allure (fashion and finery), Wonder & Son (magical supplies), Bizar (exotic goods), and the House of Masks (feasting and theater). Each shop not only has a storefront on the market square, but a warehouse on the River Heirwater, from which their goods are imported and exported all throughout the kingdom of Marka.


Organizations:
Heirwater is a godless city, known for worshiping three things only: power, gold, and knowledge. Nowhere is the latter more true than in the Academy of the Heir, the greatest university in the kingdom, rivaling even the houses of lore in the King's City to the south. The Academy was founded for the education of the Heir himself, and has flourished into two immense branches—the College of Magic and the College of Matter. The best and brightest for a thousand leagues come to Heirwater to learn from the masters at the Academy.


History & Culture:
The River Heirwater is said to have been the home of a River Spirit thousands of years ago in the age of legend. As legend has it, Markaz was the name of a terrorizing warlord who was riding up and down in pillage, ravaging the countryside. The River Spirit, hearing this, came to him in the night and seduced him. When he awoke, he was overcome with love and married her on the spot. She helped him establish a peaceful kingdom built on fairness, then died in childbirth. (Some say she didn’t die, but slipped away after the child’s birth because she missed the river, and that she still lives there, influencing the kingdom to this day.) Other versions of this story exist—that he married her before she came to him, that she was his prisoner and escaped after the birth, that she wasn’t a river spirit at all, but a magic pretender who bewitched him. Nobody knows what version is true, but most believe the one above.

To this day, the royal line of Markaz counts water as the most revered of elements, and much of their tradition and symbology has to do with the blood of the River Spirit that is said to flow through their veins. Heirwater was founded on the spot where, according to legend, the River Spirit came to Markaz. In fact, every summer (supposedly on the night of the seduction), a great festival called Riverthanks takes place, with legend stating that whoever touches the central stone of the great market square at midnight will have immeasurable luck in the coming year.

Heirwater, although the second largest city in the kingdom, has a troubled history. It was long ago established as a place where the King's Heir could (upon completing his education) rule with absolute authority, acting on his every whim, to teach him the ways of governance. Unfortunately it has led to wild shifts and surges of power within the city itself, leaving it an unpredictable and dangerous place for those not accustomed to its ever-changing laws. There are known to be at least two professional criminal organizations at work in the city, who thrive in the cracks of chaos left by the swings of authority.

Good advice for newcomers to the city is always the same: first, sleep in a house as close to the market square as you can. Second, don't walk along the river at night, ever. Third, transact your business then move along... in a city like this, staying around isn't for the faint of heart.


Layout:
Heirwater is built like a 5-point star around a bend in the River Heirwater and its single island, called simply "the Hill." The Hill houses the Fortress of the Heir (built on ancient dwarvish ruins that predate even the legend of the River Spirit) and its council palaces, the estates of the Montulets and Fortesqueues, and the Academy of the Heir. The Hill is like a small town of its own, with particular customs, hierarchies, and VERY tight security.

On the other end of its great drawbridge is the great Market Square, surrounded by the Six Shops. Near this central area are the finer houses—mansions and fortresses, really—that make up the safer part of the city. From there, Heirwater takes a turn for the worse as it approaches its outer walls, with the worst of its population to be found closest to the outer limits and the many gates of the city. There are good pockets—decent neighborhoods, small squares and parks, and the five fountains that recount the legend of the River Spirit... but under the present Heir, much of the city is given over to violence and squalor. Over the river are a series of bridges, each watched over by one of the two noble guard houses. Yet even with their fierce patrol, it's known that the riverbank is no place to be at night... not for anyone who values their neck.


[OOC: Feel free to ask questions here!]

I'm curious about the underworld here. Is there an active "thieves guild" or similar organized crime syndicate? How strict is law enforcement? Are there certain neighborhoods that are defined as "outside the law"?

Also, how stratified is the social hierarchy? Naturally, the Heir, their Tutors, and the military hold special standing. How about the rest of the general populace? Is there a wide income gap between the moneyed nobility and the working poor? Or is the climate more egalitarian, with a strong middle class?

Great questions! I'll reply here with what's general knowledge about the city, and then if you create a character with more access to the underworld, we'll work out some backstory/context information that you have and the others don't in notes, especially in any situation that would affect how you decide to build your character.

Is there an active "thieves guild" or similar organized crime syndicate?
It's a known fact that there are at least two competing crime organizations in the city, possibly more. Rough-House is one of two, and when a battered body is found in the streets at dawn, it's usually attributed to them. The other one operates much more subtly... merchants whisper they're being conspired against and ruined by dark dealings and fixed outcomes, victims disappear in the night and never return... but nobody can say with any certainty who this second group might be or how they achieve their means--whatever those are.

There are, of course, plenty of violent deaths, crimes of passion, and unsolvable mysteries that might not be attached to either group. Heirwater is... not a stable city.

How strict is law enforcement?
With two small armies of royal guards, you'd think that Heirwater would be incredibly lawful... but then you'd be forgetting how deeply the Montulets and the Fortesqueues hate each other. If a Montulet was crossing a road patrolled by the Fortesqueues and saw a murder in broad daylight, he'd tip his hat and consider it a lucky day--one more failure for the other house to face. Not all guards are so extreme, of course, but even those who take their duties seriously are often caught up in trying to outperform (or even directly skirmish against) the other house. As a result, criminals have learned what streets and times of day present opportunities for skulduggery... and it isn't that hard to pay off a low-level guard when it'll make the other house look foolish.

Are there certain neighborhoods that are defined as "outside the law"?
Strictly speaking, all of Heirwater is a royal city, and justice can be dealt on any street. But there is a clear diminishment of lawfulness as you move further from the center of town. Also, for decades both houses poured blood and gold into trying to patrol the river at night... but with the low fog that rolls over both banks after dark, the murky blackness of the water, and the muffled sound of boats knocking against the docks, it has been deemed generally impossible to impose strict order there. If a villain wants to do ill deeds, the banks of the Heirwater at night are where he'll find his golden opportunity.

How stratified is the social hierarchy?
If there's one thing you can say for Heirwater, it's that it does seem to be a meritocracy. Since the Heir's word is law, sudden shifts in fortune can occur in a moment--which prevents strict class hierarchy from taking hold easily. Bright minds can shine at the Academy, military discipline will be rewarded in the guard houses (possibly even with marriage into the house for those who commend themselves most highly), and anyone with a knack for making money can find favor with one of the Six Shops.

It's a city that seems to always be straining and striving after power, money, knowledge, and favor with the court. Everywhere, people talk about how next year, they'll make the move that will get them noticed, turn things around, earn them position. And everywhere, people are talking about the latest court favorite to fall in disgrace.

Is there a wide income gap between the moneyed nobility and the working poor? Or is the climate more egalitarian, with a strong middle class?
Heirwater is a large enough city with enough wealth and commerce flowing through it that there is a fairly distributed class structure, for a medieval city. I'd probably list the social order something like this:

Less than .01% -- Nobility (The Heir, the Council of Friends and Tutors, the Court)
2% -- Scholars (Working or studying at the Academy)
5% -- Military (Family & hired guards for both houses)
13% -- Merchants, craftsmen, professionals (upper middle class)
25% -- Tradesmen, landowners (lower middle class)
55% -- Laborers, peasants, beggars, criminals, prisoners

Hope that helps! Again, as you start to cement your character, you'll unlock special info based on your background.

Additionally, I just did a little more work on the map, and it looks like there are seven particularly bad neighborhoods scattered around town, known collectively as "the seven slums." Theoretically, these are still under the governance of the law, but they're far enough away from reputable parts of town to be unpleasant.

I'll be posting more maps/letting you know when these become relevant.

What would be a useful or common language to have as a Bizar trader beyond Common? Is there a race that does frequent business that would be useful to know their language?

At first blush, I'd go Gnomic. Lots of people speak Dwarf or Elf, but Gnomes have a scattered population throughout the kingdom and know a thing or two about making magical wonders.

Second option is that there's another human language in the neighboring kingdom of Talonas to the west... knowing how to speak Taloni could help you out, and is a fairly rare language to know.

Going gnome due to the association with exotic good. Thanks!

I went with Halfling...

You two should be able to notice me. I'll be the lumbering bull-man. :)

Do halflings have their own language? I thought they just spoke common.

For some reason I thought it was listed in the phb.

You are correct. My mistake. I guess its just never come up in game where we needed to be able to understand halfling, lol.

I speak common and giant. A nod to my outlander nature.

I can also speak common and giant. Along with 3 others, due to all the books I read.