Suth
The Basics
The city of Suth is to the Basin what Rome is to the Catholic church on earth. It’s the beating heart of the largest religion in the Basin and the center of the Church’s power. The High Prelate lives here, and his actions and pronouncements can be felt reverberating through the whole of the Basin. Erich Castillar was an incredibly unlikely choice for the position of High Prelate. He had little formal training. He was the bastard son of the Lady Ahnwick Castillar (the former Prelate) and Sir Kenna Fury, was married to a Free Woman from Trentare, and he had shockingly progressive views, not the least of which was a desire to bring peace between the Order of Mystics and the Holy Church. In spite of the long odds against it, he was chosen by the College of Cardinals to lead the Faithful. As it turned out, he was exactly the man for the job. Using his youth, energy and the sheer force of his personality, he has probably done more to transform the Basin than any other individual alive today, and although the years are beginning to show, his spirit and his passion for change haven’t diminished one bit. The Holy Lands are a theocracy. The word of the Holy Church is law, and Erich Castillar is seen as the spokesman for the High Father in the Basin. His decrees matter, not just in the Holy Lands, but in the entire Basin. Given his familiar ties, he’s on excellent terms with the Furies and the Free Folk to the north, and maintains a strong friendship with the Council Lands to the east. The Queen of Fraine utterly despises Erich Castillar and has tried to have him assassinated on numerous occasions, which has brought the Basin to the brink of war more than once. Having fought in the Great War, the Prelate is reluctant to take things to that extreme, however, much preferring to find a peaceful way to reunite the Basin and return a King to the throne of Candle’Bre. Unlike the Furies, he has not yet given up on that dream, and believes that the fusion of technology and magic is the way forward. In addition to pouring the Church’s resources into funding the Great Locomotive Project in Calimba (in hopes of having a second rail line and locomotive built that would one day serve Suth), he has also spent lavishly to build a communications system that would tie the whole of the Basin together. Its expense has nearly ruined the Church, financially, however, and left his coffers dangerously bare. The upshot is, Erich now has a prototype in hand. In fact, ‘The Spire’ as it is called, sits atop the High Temple of J’honsa. (Game Note: The Spire acts as a kind of “signal booster” for certain magics. It currently has an effective radius of ten miles, which covers the entire city and beyond. Any ‘Message’ or ‘Sending’ spells cast within that radius have their range doubled. The hope is that further refinements will increase both the radius of the effect and the amount of boost provided. That, combined with building an overlapping series of Spires throughout the Realm would allow for seamless communications, so basically AT&T, but with magic).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.His Holiness, Erich Castillar (Prelate and Speaker for the HighFather)
If you have a cleric in your party (and you probably do), sooner or later, you’re going to want to journey to the Holy Lands. When you do, you’re very likely to meet, or at least put eyes on Erich Castillar. He’s highly visible and actively engaged, both in the Holy Lands and elsewhere around the Basin, frequently traveling in person to meet with the Faithful in other parts of the Basin, and with political leaders. The man is tireless.Sir Gavin Harkin (Retired Knight/Weapons Master)
Sir Gavin Harkin served the Lady Ahnwick during the Great War. When the war ended, he retired in Suth and now teaches weapons training to any who want to learn. His school is among the best you’ll find anywhere, and if you’re in the area and looking to pick up tips, pointers or receive any sort of weapons or related training, Sir Harken is the instructor you want (Game Note: If you have AP’s to spend and are interested in boosting your physical stats, learning new weapon skills, etc. Gavin’s your guy).Lady Miriam Threen (Proprietor: The Lilly Pad)
The Lilly Pad is as eccentric a place as you’re likely to find anywhere in the Basin. It’s an inn. It’s a tavern. It’s a curio shop. Rumor has it that Lady Miriam has a small collection of specialty items kept in a secret chamber beneath the shop for regular customers and ‘friends of the Lilly Pad’ (as ever, DM’s discretion as to exactly what that means). Miriam is a surprisingly powerful Witching woman and one of many who fought in the Great War (Game Note: Warlock, in the service of the Enchantress) These days, she leads a quiet life and keeps a low profile. Thanks to the peace between the Church and the Order of Mystics, she has found, and acceptance in Suth (while the common folk of Suth generally take a dim view of magics, peace or no, they seem to make an exception for Lady Miriam). The Lilly Pad is built in the shape of a giant mushroom, and inside, all of the tables actually do look like Lilly Pads. While magic is rare, here, it is mundane and just part of the décor. Magically lit crystals in the walls provide soft illumination, and you’ll find small magical flourishes abounding (example: When your food is brought to your table, it’s often accompanied by an ethereal tinkling of bells or a small shower of pixie dust which vanishes before it touches the food). The common folk seem to delight in these simple tricks and never tire of them. The rooms are comfortable, the food delicious and the staff are attentive, making the Lilly Pad one of the more popular places to stay when visiting the city, even if it looks a bit like it was built by someone on an acid trip.The High Temple (Temple)
If you’re coming to Suth, you basically have to visit the Temple Compound. A sprawling, University Sized campus, it houses the Church Library (more than TWO THOUSAND books!), an Observatory, and a small college for both general and religious studies. In a move that greatly upset the fundamentalist wing of the Church, the Prelate has even ordered that Minor Arcana be collected, and Wizards will find a small collection of those available here (particulars left to the DM, both in terms of content and exactly what it takes to access the collection).Rumors of Cult Activity (Ollux, Astaroth)
Most major cities have rumors of cult activity, and Suth is no exception. Whether the rumors are true or not is anyone’s guess.Plot Threads
The Holy Lands could easily serve as the base for an entire campaign. There are any number of directions you could go:- If you wanted to go the tech/steampunk angle, then helping secure components to expand the nascent communications network or figure out how to build a second locomotive could occupy an entire adventuring career.
- The University/Temple Complex/Observatory could not only serve as a base of operations but be the focal point of an entire campaign in its own right.
- The Serpent’s Back Ridge could easily occupy the entirety of an adventuring career (and the Crevasse of Sorrows is in the vicinity too).
- Protecting the Gold Fields and/or resolving the issues with the Bandit Kings would be another fun avenue to consider, and of course, the Haaradis.
- Then there’s the matter of securing the northern half of the Holy Lands to serve as bridge between Church lands and the territory held by the Furies, which could lead to a massive, game changing balance of power in the Basin. This, of course, would mean having to deal decisively with the humanoids in the far West…
- And so on. Tons of great possibilities for a Holy Lands-centric campaign!
Type
Capital
Population
33,315
Library Size
~500 Books
Held By
The Holy Lands
Goods Availability
- Food and Lodging
- All Mercantile Goods
- Apothecary
- All Weapons
- All Armor Types
- Special Orders
- Masterwork Items
Available to Characters w/Connections
(University Students/Graduates, Personal Invites, etc.) In Mischief Alley Etc.- Quick Potions
- Some Magic Items
Prices
10% Premium in the South(Masterwork and Specialty Orders have a premium set by the DM)
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