Parthia
The Basics
Parthia was once a much larger city. When the dead overran the place, thousands perished. The remainder fled toward Cerilon where many remain to this day. Damage to the city was extensive, but with Dwarven aid, the Furies were able to get the city put back together in relatively short order. The population, however, will be a long time recovering. For now, Parthia feels a bit like a ghost town. It’s a city built to support a great many more people than are currently living there, so there are, at present, a number of vacant homes and empty shops. In some respects then, this makes it a perfect base of operations. A low-level party is generally strapped for cash, and you can likely find a place to serve as a base of operations available for a song in Parthia. In fact, many stately, older homes are currently standing empty. When the site for Parthia was chosen, it straddled a number of small streams which were ultimately turned into a series of canals that serve the more prosperous districts and the canal ferry service is back in operation, so an enterprising, bargain hunting party could score a big house in a nice part of town and have water taxi service to boot! Parthia tends to have more luxury items than Cerilon, at least if those items are of Dwarven manufacture, since everything flowing from the North Spur passes through Parthia, so a party based here would have easy access to Dwarven quality, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at.Prominent People & Places
Obviously, there are scores, if not hundreds of interesting people and places in a major city like this, but here are just a few tidbits to get your creative juices flowing.Lord-Mayor Harlan Fury (Lord-Mayor)
Harlan is a man of the people. He doesn’t like to hide in the keep in the center of the city, but rather, loves to move about freely and often without much in the way of an escort. He’s an accomplished warrior in his own right, and confident in his ability to handle anything or anyone who might have ill intentions toward him and it gives him an opportunity to meet the people of his city and hear their concerns firsthand, without having them filtered through advisors. Right now, the biggest concern is that there are more undead skulking through the sewer systems or the catacombs beneath the city. This, however, is unlikely. A thorough search was conducted and the undead were eradicated. Every grave in the city’s two cemeteries was dug up to make sure there were no nasty surprises, then blessed and reburied, a process which kept the priesthood (all three religions can be found here) busy for months. In any case, if you spent any time in Parthia at all, you’re bound to see the Lord-Mayor out and about.Elowyn Tyree (High Priestess, Kaylaar)
Elowyn Tyree is a rarity in the Basin. A Wood Elf, originally from Shaladare (having awakened there the night the Eye fell to earth), she wandered the Basin for a time searching for a way home, and when none was found, embraced Kaylaar and wandered north, where she found a willing and receptive audience among both the human and Dwarven populations. After purchasing one of the many homes standing empty in Parthia, she spent several years developing a flock of faithful, meeting in the Pass of Partha, which was a convenient waypoint for both humans and Dwarves. Since then, she has gotten permission to plant trees and has transformed the pass into a veritable garden, with the railroad track running through it. Although she maintains her home in Parthia and is often in town, she can just as often be found tending to her flock in the Pass.Hassan Ramani (Trader)
A retired Borderman, Hassan moved to Parthia for the same reason many newcomers did, to take advantage of the many homes that are currently standing empty. He acquired a home in the canal district, then became fascinated with all things Dwarven. Initially a collector of examples of exceptional Dwarven craftsmanship and something of a hobbyist, his passion eventually blossomed into a full-time business. These days, he keeps a small shop in the center of town, offering only the finest of Dwarven wares. He probably knows more about the Dwarves at this point than any human alive and has more recently expanded his interest to include items produced in the Underworld by the Splinter Mind. His thriving business has earned him a small fortune and he would make an excellent Patron for a group of hungry adventurers (which would be an awesome choice especially if you plan on running a game that seeks to explore the Underworld).Devlin McGuiness (Proprietor: The Brass Orchid)
Given the depressed population, there aren’t many places to stay in the city just now. Before the trouble with the undead, The Brass Orchid was one of the finest inns and taverns in the city, and it was the first to be rebuilt and reopened when the city was reclaimed. It’s an exquisite place, with a much more refined look than you typically find in the north (the proprietor moved to the area from Calimba and brought his sense of style with him), featuring delightfully comfortable rooms, private meeting halls, delicious food and stout Dwarven ale (25% markup to stay here, on top of the 15-20% higher prices in the north generally). Devlin works behind the bar where he happily trades stories of past adventures and if the tales he tells are true, he has led a colorful life (particulars left to the DM’s discretion so Devlin can be fitted into whatever role you need him for).Knights of the Old Code (Informal Military Fraternal Order)
Although the Knights of the Black Watch are gone, they are not forgotten, and in Parthia, an informal order has arisen to honor and remember the Black Watch. They meet in the Brass Orchid on a regular basis (and there are some rumors that they make use of the catacombs beneath the city, which may be accessible from beneath the Orchid). There’s no uniform or pledges to speak, and the Order is made up of an even mix of Knight-Errants, Free Swords and Bordermen, all of whom share a longing for that which was lost. For that which the Black Watch represented to the Basin. Although only loosely organized, they do actively assist in maintaining the security of the Pass of Partha and bolstering patrols to the south to guard against humanoid incursions.The Pass of Partha (Parthaway)
The great city was built such that a portion of the western walls nearly kiss the mountains. Where two of them sprang up when the "God's Teeth" spell was cast, pure happenstance created a narrow pass. This pass now serves as a highly convenient, if somewhat haunted feeling route to and from the Kingdom of the Spur. It is here that the Dwarves have built their own (non-magical) rail line to connect The Spur and the Reach, both to spur trade and to speed communications in times of trouble.Rumors of Cult Activity (Astaroth, Bel’Sheggorath)
There are a few scattered rumors that cultists following both Astaroth and Bel’Sheggorath have been drawn to the city, no doubt in the hopes of discovering (rediscovering) the secrets of making the dead walk once more. If they are present, there are plenty of places to hide in the city, but there’s no firm evidence either way.Plot Threads
Most of the plot devices that were mentioned in the section on Cerilon would work here too, but Parthia is “closer to the action” if you wanted to run a Dwarven/North Spur game without actually setting it in the North Spur. Additionally, it’s right next door to the Wild Lands, and Orcish incursions are much more likely here. It would also be easy to build an entire campaign around the idea of having the party actively involved with the resettlement of Parthia to see her return to her former status as a truly great city of the Realm – low level adventurers could be assigned to guard settlement caravans as they made their way to the city, while higher level adventures could delve more deeply into the regional and Basin-wide politics, and ultimately, focus on making the region safer by focusing on the Wild Lands and the Haaradis. If you didn’t want to go that route and you wanted to focus more on the restoration of the Black Watch, then the “Knights of the Old Code” could easily serve as a jumping off point for a campaign-length storyline. The bottom line is: Parthia is kind of a blank slate, so there are tons of great options here.
Type
Large city
Population
16,423
The Reach
Goods Availability
- Food and Lodging
- All Mercantile Goods
- Apothecary
- All Weapons
- All Armor Types
- Special Orders
- Masterwork Items
Available to Characters w/Connections
- Quick Potions
- Dwarven Masterwork Items
- Poisons
Prices
20% premium in the North
(Masterwork and Specialty Orders have a premium set by the DM)
Comments