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| Kôhp
Nyr Kôhpitol Royale |
Bridgeville
Majin Dûcton |
Aarunvale
Hilldale Forestvale |
Fyr Kôhpitol
Kôl Bhyd Outpost |
Kôhp
The land: Kôhp
is the capital of Stephen. In population and size it is a relatively
small city, comprised of about 5000 permanent residents inside the castle
walls. Traveling tradesmen and other vagabonds often set up semi-permanent
camps outside the city walls. The royal castle itself is perched
upon a high, steep hill, almost a cliff, with its back directly touching
the mountainside. A single road leads into and out of the city.
(There are, of course, a number of secret passageways and tunnels for escape
that lead deep into the mountain.) Kôhp is something of an
artificial city, being out of the way of most major trade routes and centers
of other population; its entire existence crutches upon the presence of
the royal family. Never the less it is a lively and prosperous city.
All taxes and laws are governed completely by the king.
The lord: King
Xerxes is, like his kingdom, relatively new: placed upon the throne only
15 years ago, reigning victorious from the Battle of Seven Armies.
He is a wise and benevolent man with an uncommon wisdom. He faces
an uphill battle for his reign, however. The dukes and nobility of
Stephen are splintered and jealous of his position, each wishing the crown
for himself. Xerxes is a ruler of the people, as before coming to
power he was an outcast and commoner. He understands the plight of
the common man and the knowledge that one can only govern with the consent
of the people.
The most striking fact about
Xerxes is that he is a powerful psionicist, and that in a realm wary of
such strange and fantastic powers, he does not hide his abilities.
He is not above using these powers to aid him in negotiations or to rule
his kingdom properly, but he is loath to intimidate people blatantly.
King Xerxes (16th level psionicist): AL LG; Int 16; AC by armor; MV 12; HD 10+6; hp 50; THACo 13; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon; SA psionics; SD psionics; MR nil; SZ M (6’); ML Elite (14); PSPs 205The people: The population of Kôhp is mainly nobles and rich merchants – living so close to the King has its price. The people of Kôhp are not necessarily a good representation of the rest of Stephen: they tend to be highly educated (though, being human, magical education is slim), quite affluent, and not truly connected with the world outside of the city.
Psionic Powers:
Disciplines: Clairsentience, Psychokinesis, Psychoportation, Telepathy, Metapsionics
Sciences: Clairvoyance, Telekinesis, Project Force, Teleport, Mindlink, Ultrablast, Psionic Blast, Superior Invisibility
Devotions: Contact, Awe, Ego Whip, ESP, Id Insinuation, Mind Thrust, Truthear; Animate Object, Ballistic Attack, Levitation, Control Wind, Molecular Agitation, Inertial Barrier; Radial Navigation, Danger Sense, Know Location; Time Shift, Teleport Trigger, Dimensional Door; Magnify, Enhancement
Nyr Kôhpitol
The land: A bustling
metropolis, the city of Nyr Kôhpitol lies upon a large plateau in
the western portion of the Central Plains and just east of the borders
of the Black Forest. The city is completely walled, and is in no
uncertain terms enormous: nearly five miles across it is home to nearly
100,000 people. Nyr Kôhpitol lies at an important crossroads:
the Old Elfin Road leads from West to East from Lorn, across the Central
Plains, over the Eastern fork of the Mountains of the Unknown, and into
the vast wild plains east of Stephen; the Pilgrim's Road leads North to
South, from the Northern Wastes all the way to the ancient kingdom of Ruûn.
The populace of Nyr Kôhpitol is fed by miles of surrounding farms,
which lie both on the plateau and about it. The city is easily the
most affluent and metropolitan of any in Stephen, rivaling even some of
the ancient cities of Ruûn in size and grandeur.
The city of Nyr Kôhpitol
is divided almost evenly into four rather distinct sections. The
High Hill, where most of the nobility's residences are found, lies in the
northwest corner of the city. The Merchant's Quarter lies opposite
of the High Hill, in the southeast corner; here one can find practically
any shop imaginable. The Common Ways, home to the emerging middle-class
of merchants and free servants, is the smallest section, just south of
the High Hill.
Finally, there is the greatest
peculiarity of all of Stephen: the Dark Quarter. An entire quarter
of Nyr Kôhpitol is walled unto itself, and within these wall walks
the greatest vermin of all the kingdom. The Dark Quarter is, in essence,
a prison gone horribly awry. While there is only one entrance, the
wall surrounding the Dark Quarter is full of covert holes and escape ways
built by thieves and masterminds intent on reeking vengeance upon the world.
The Dark Quarter is also home to the Nyr Kôhpitol Thieves’ Guild,
the largest and most powerful organization in the entire kingdom.
The lord: The
Duchess Aurelia Disbane rules her large and important duchy with keen intelligence
and not a little ruthlessness when necessary. Born and raised upon
politics, manipulating people and the use of vicious diplomacy are second
nature to her. Her natural ambition does not outsize her realism,
however. Aurelia rarely underestimates an enemy or a situation.
She realizes that happy and contented people pay taxes well and on time
and that a free flow of merchants and merchandise is her bread and butter,
as it were. Aurelia is staunchly proud of her lineage and education,
and will defend the superiority of her family and her realm to the last.
Nyr Kôhpitol is large
enough to require more than simply a Duchess; Aurelia has also appointed
a mayor to oversee the city itself: Sir Karl Gleamblade. The Gleamblades
are very old friends to the Disbanes, serving them militarily for generations.
The two families trace their association even as far back as before the
coming of the Emperor Baûl. Sir Karl is a hardened veteran
from years of adventuring and the recent Battle of the Seven Armies, a
level 12 warrior, and a knight of Xerxes’ court. He is a wise man,
finding his ability to command troops in times of duress transferring well
to the world of politics. He is also the calming agent for the Duchess
Disbane, especially when disputes occur between herself and King Xerxes.
The people: Being
as large as it is, the variety of people in Nyr Kôhpitol is astounding,
especially to the visiting inhabitants of smaller towns in the kingdom.
Compared to the rest (and majority still) of Stephen, the people of Nyr
Kôhpitol tend to be fairly well off, have some degree of education,
and are fairly open-minded. Merchants and travelers from the ends
of the world pass through Nyr Kôhpitol on almost a daily basis: elf-sages
from the universities of Lorn, sailor merchants from Ruûn, travelers
and adventurers of all sizes and callings.
Royale
The land: Royale
lies on the southern edge of the Central plains, about a day on horseback
south and west from Nyr Kôhpitol. It is surrounded by a few
sloping hills and kilometres of farmland. Royale is a rather small
town, of only about 10,000 inhabitants, many of whom are employed its professional
and battle-worthy militia. Royale was originally little more than
a large marketplace for the local peasants and farmers to gather, barter,
and socialize. However, Royale’s one redeeming quality is its location:
it lies directly upon the Pilgrim's Way and is acts as something of a gate
to all those who pass north to Nyr Kôhpitol or south to lands beyond.
A passage tax is levied upon all travelers, depending on the size and number
of their party.
The table below is the current
rates for passage through Royale; the rates can vary depending upon the
season or the whim of Duke Burlade. Passage Tax Collectors are posted
day and night at the only two gateways into and out of Royale, along with
a garrison of at least 15 well armed 4th level militiamen.
The rates are not posted
for the public, so Collectors often charge more than the Duke's rate and
line their own pockets with the change. Anything that is not easily
defined by the table below (at the discretion of the Passage Tax Collector,
of course) may require special consideration and a special fee. Once
the travelers have paid the fair fee to entire the town, they are given
a large token to return to the garrison as they leave. The
token is about 6 centimetres in diameter, made of copper and engraved with
the Duke Burlade’s likeness, with the inscription “Passage Assured through
the Marvelous Township of Royale.” Militiamen, Passage Tax Collectors,
or any official of Royale can demand to see the token of anyone within
the city walls. Residents of the city have a special token that is
smaller and bears the inscription “Resident of the Marvelous Township of
Royale.” Upon inspection, one can find that there are notches along
the edge of a resident's token (which they often wear as medallions to
keep from losing them.) A resident's token is notched when he pays
his taxes. The notches are date-specific, so that an official can
easily ascertain the last time someone paid his taxes. Anyone found
without his token or having not paid his taxes is immediately imprisoned
and probably due for a public flogging the next day.
Passage Tax through Royale
| Party | Passage Tax |
| 1, on foot | 2 sp |
| 1, on horseback | 5 sp |
| 5-10, on foot | 15 sp |
| 5-10, on horseback | 35 sp |
| 10-20, on foot | 30 sp (3 gp) |
| 10-20, on horseback | 7 gp |
| Caravan, pilgrims | 7 gp |
| Small merchant caravan (10-20) | 15 gp |
| Medium merchant caravan (20-30) | 30 gp |
| Large merchant caravan (30+) | 45 gp |
The lord: Duke
Arthur Burlade is a devious and ruthless man. He devised the Passage
Tax not long after his ascension to his position, aghast, ashamed and angry
at the deplorable state of his once-pitiful duchy. It was, of course,
a resounding success: within a year he had built barracks and training
grounds for his militia and within another year he had walled the once-unprotected
city. He was at first hailed by the people of Royale for bringing
prosperity to the dismal township, but soon they, too, fell under the yoke
of his greed. Duke Burlade is an intelligent and politically savvy
man, but his ambition and ruthlessness shadow every decision. He
holds himself superior in every way to the “common scum”, which includes
anyone to whom he is not closely tied.
The people: The
inhabitants
of Royale suffer something of an inferiority complex: they long for the
wealth and grandeur of the larger cities of Stephen, but they are willing
to cut off their own arms in order to achieve this goal. While the
Passage Tax brought an enormous amount of wealth to Royale, the presence
of the militia, the hordes of Tax Collectors and the greed of Duke Burlade
have crushed the common man of the city back to poverty and squalor of
former times.
