Fairhaven
Aundairian Capital City, Metropolis, Population 92,500
Fairhaven is the social and cultural center of Aundair as well as its capital city. Accordingly, it’s also the center of intrigue for the region and fertile ground for adventure. Characters who come to Fairhaven can establish connections with the Royal Eyes, smuggle for the black market, or bid on exotic wares in the famed Distant Exchange.
Fairhaven lies near the headwaters of the Aundair River some 80 miles west of the Thrane border. City planners divide the city into a dozen wards, the most prominent of which are described below. The immense palace of Fairhold in the center of the city is practically a ward unto itself, and rare is the point in the city that doesn’t afford a view of the massive castle.
Leadership: Fairhaven has no city government to speak of; Queen Aurala ir’Wynarn rules it as her personal domain within the nation she also leads. Aurala’s brother Aurad (LG male human aristocrat 6) is the governor for Capital Affairs and handles the day-to-day operations of the city. But major public works projects and law enforcement activities happen only with the queen’s approval.
Demographics: Humans 65%, half-elves 15%, gnomes 9%, elves 7%, changelings 2%, other 2%.
Many of the half-elves ply the Aundair River, so their population shifts upward or downward by as much as a thousand, depending on fishing and other river trade.
Chalice Center: This red brick plaza is the first part of Fairhaven that well-to-do travelers see. At one end of the square is the docking tower for House Lyrandar’s airships. Airships depart daily. One route goes to Wroat (78 hours, 1,560 gp) and Sharn (100 hours, 2,000 gp), and another goes to Korth (29 hours, 580 gp) and Krona Peak (92 hours, 1,840 gp). A third airship route goes to Flamekeep (18 hours, 360 gp) and either Taer Valaestas (100 hours, 2,000 gp) or Trolanport (88 hours, 1,750 gp). There’s also a twice-daily express that connects Fairhaven to the Lyrandar enclave at Stormhome (32 hours, 640 gp).
The other end of Chalice Center contains House Orien’s lightning rail station. Lightning rails depart every hour for the Orien hub at Passage (360 miles, 12 hours, 180 gp). Within 2d12 hours on any given day there’s a lightning rail going through Passage and on to Wroat (1,844 miles, 61 hours, 922 gp) and Sharn(2,300 miles, 76 hours, 1,150 gp), or in the other direction to Thaliost (900 miles, 30 hours, 450 gp). Prices are for first-class accommodations.
Fairhold: Queen Aurala’s palace takes up acres in the center of Fairhaven. Parts of it are open to the public, including a museum, extensive public gar- dens, and a large winery. Other parts of Fairhold, such as the royal family residences and the detention center within the Courts of Justice, define high security and bristle with both mundane and magical guardians.
The centerpiece of Fairhold is the Crown’s Hall, where Queen Aurala holds audience on a daily basis. The arena-sized hall has gold-leaf decorations on nearly every surface—so much shiny gold that the very walls seem to radiate a warm light of their own.
The head of the palace staff is Castellan Adele Fulirno (described below). She manages more than a thousand workers—everyone from the cooks to the bedchamber servants to the royal executioners. She also keeps the queen’s daily schedule; few ever speak to the queen without Fulirno’s assent.
Fairhold also houses the Royal Collection of Aundair, a peerless collection of historical texts. Access to the Royal Collection provides a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (history) checks that involve the history of Galifar or the original Five Nations. Doing research at the Royal Collection requires permis- sion from First Warlord Adal, Castellan Fulirno, or Queen Aurala herself.
The Tower of Eyes can also be found here, though few people actually understand the purpose or significance of that particular alabaster tower.
Distant Exchange: The city has larger market-places, but none are as vibrant and exotic as the Distant Exchange. Caravans from House Orien and independent merchants pull up almost daily to sell wares from far-off lands. By law and custom, nothing sold at the Distant Exchange can be found within Aundair’s borders. Shoppers thus fi nd everything from Karrnathi brandy to Q’barran ebony carvings. Many of the vendors offer exotic food, drink, and clothing, but more than a dozen antiquities dealers have shops on the streets that surround the Distant Exchange. Treasures from Xen’drik often turn up here, though they rarely stay on sale for long.
Sovereign Ward: The Sovereign Host has a sprawling temple in the ward to which it lends its name. The temple has a central Hall of the Assembled Host that seats almost two thousand worshipers. Individual shrines to each of the deities that comprise the Sovereign Host surround the central hall; Arawai and Olladra’s shrines are particularly large and well-attended. The surrounding buildings provide residences for the acolytes and priests of the temple. In the south part of the ward, a number of vacant buildings denote the crumbling emptiness of the Church of the Silver Flame.
Abandoned Cathedral of the Silver Flame: Thrane and Aundair were frequent enemies during the Last War, and relations between them haven’t improved much since the war has ended. This tall, imposing cathedral was one of the largest outside Thrane’s borders, and it was a frequent sendoff point for many Silver Flame missionaries to the west. But when the Church of the Silver Flame seized control of Thrane after Thalin’s death in 914 YK, King Wrogar ordered the cathedral closed, and its clerics fled rather than face arrest.
The cathedral has lain vacant ever since. A fewlooters have explored its many chambers, but most Fairhaveners regard the place as haunted. Few children willingly walk within the cathedral’s shadow, believing that “Thrane ghosts” will get them if they do. Even adults regard it as bad luck to stand within the cathedral’s shadow—or even to acknowledge its presence. The entire city does its best to pretend that the cathedral isn’t there.
One of Fairhaven’s most powerful criminal syndicates, the Dark Dagger Gang, has seized the opportunity that the city’s deliberate amnesia presents. The changeling head of the syndicate, Kreelo (describedbelow), has moved his headquarters into the cathedral.Now the Dark Dagger gang plots to rule Fairhaven’s underworld from amid the tattered tapestries and shattered stained-glass windows of the former cathedral.
Whiteroof Ward: Named for the light gray slate roofs on many of the buildings, the Whiteroof Ward handles much of the city’s river shipping. A rough-and-tumble part of town, Whiteroof is home to Fairhaven’s transient half-elf population. The “river elves” of Whiteroof spend about half their time idling in Fairhaven and the rest of it fishing the Aundair River or shipping cargo downriver to Scions Sound. The half-elves have a reputation up and down the river as schemers and con artists, but as canny business owners as well. Most Aundairians say that you’ll either get the best deal of your life from a Whiteroof half-elf, or you’ll get cheated and left empty-handed.
The Whiteroof half-elves tend to be more cosmopolitan than most Aundairians. They’re among the few Aundairians who regularly trade with Thrane, for example. Many an Aundairian bard, half-elf or not, traces his love of story and song to an encounter with a Whiteroof “river elf” that told magical tales of life on the Aundair River.
Knowledge Ward: The University of Wynarn (described below) dominates the Knowledge Ward. The rest of the ward is given over to meager student housing, inexpensive public houses, and a small enclave of several hundred kalashtar.
House Jorasco Citadel: Adventurers naturally want to know where to go to have a slain comrade raised from the dead. Fairhaven’s most potent healer is Haneela d’Jorasco (LN female halfl ing cleric 13). She’ll perform raise dead immediately for 6,000 gp in goods or coin as long as she’s convinced that she’s not raising a wanted criminal. Given 24 hours notice, she can cast resurrection for 11,000 gp in goods or coin. Haneela channels divine power from the spiritual remnants of the Dragon Above, so she’s affiliated with no particular deity.
Fairhaven lies near the headwaters of the Aundair River some 80 miles west of the Thrane border. City planners divide the city into a dozen wards, the most prominent of which are described below. The immense palace of Fairhold in the center of the city is practically a ward unto itself, and rare is the point in the city that doesn’t afford a view of the massive castle.
Leadership: Fairhaven has no city government to speak of; Queen Aurala ir’Wynarn rules it as her personal domain within the nation she also leads. Aurala’s brother Aurad (LG male human aristocrat 6) is the governor for Capital Affairs and handles the day-to-day operations of the city. But major public works projects and law enforcement activities happen only with the queen’s approval.
Demographics: Humans 65%, half-elves 15%, gnomes 9%, elves 7%, changelings 2%, other 2%.
Many of the half-elves ply the Aundair River, so their population shifts upward or downward by as much as a thousand, depending on fishing and other river trade.
Notable Features
Fairhaven has places where PCs can find employment, buy and sell rare and powerful items—and sneak into or out of town when need to avoid unnecessary entanglements.Chalice Center: This red brick plaza is the first part of Fairhaven that well-to-do travelers see. At one end of the square is the docking tower for House Lyrandar’s airships. Airships depart daily. One route goes to Wroat (78 hours, 1,560 gp) and Sharn (100 hours, 2,000 gp), and another goes to Korth (29 hours, 580 gp) and Krona Peak (92 hours, 1,840 gp). A third airship route goes to Flamekeep (18 hours, 360 gp) and either Taer Valaestas (100 hours, 2,000 gp) or Trolanport (88 hours, 1,750 gp). There’s also a twice-daily express that connects Fairhaven to the Lyrandar enclave at Stormhome (32 hours, 640 gp).
The other end of Chalice Center contains House Orien’s lightning rail station. Lightning rails depart every hour for the Orien hub at Passage (360 miles, 12 hours, 180 gp). Within 2d12 hours on any given day there’s a lightning rail going through Passage and on to Wroat (1,844 miles, 61 hours, 922 gp) and Sharn(2,300 miles, 76 hours, 1,150 gp), or in the other direction to Thaliost (900 miles, 30 hours, 450 gp). Prices are for first-class accommodations.
Fairhold: Queen Aurala’s palace takes up acres in the center of Fairhaven. Parts of it are open to the public, including a museum, extensive public gar- dens, and a large winery. Other parts of Fairhold, such as the royal family residences and the detention center within the Courts of Justice, define high security and bristle with both mundane and magical guardians.
The centerpiece of Fairhold is the Crown’s Hall, where Queen Aurala holds audience on a daily basis. The arena-sized hall has gold-leaf decorations on nearly every surface—so much shiny gold that the very walls seem to radiate a warm light of their own.
The head of the palace staff is Castellan Adele Fulirno (described below). She manages more than a thousand workers—everyone from the cooks to the bedchamber servants to the royal executioners. She also keeps the queen’s daily schedule; few ever speak to the queen without Fulirno’s assent.
Fairhold also houses the Royal Collection of Aundair, a peerless collection of historical texts. Access to the Royal Collection provides a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (history) checks that involve the history of Galifar or the original Five Nations. Doing research at the Royal Collection requires permis- sion from First Warlord Adal, Castellan Fulirno, or Queen Aurala herself.
The Tower of Eyes can also be found here, though few people actually understand the purpose or significance of that particular alabaster tower.
Distant Exchange: The city has larger market-places, but none are as vibrant and exotic as the Distant Exchange. Caravans from House Orien and independent merchants pull up almost daily to sell wares from far-off lands. By law and custom, nothing sold at the Distant Exchange can be found within Aundair’s borders. Shoppers thus fi nd everything from Karrnathi brandy to Q’barran ebony carvings. Many of the vendors offer exotic food, drink, and clothing, but more than a dozen antiquities dealers have shops on the streets that surround the Distant Exchange. Treasures from Xen’drik often turn up here, though they rarely stay on sale for long.
Sovereign Ward: The Sovereign Host has a sprawling temple in the ward to which it lends its name. The temple has a central Hall of the Assembled Host that seats almost two thousand worshipers. Individual shrines to each of the deities that comprise the Sovereign Host surround the central hall; Arawai and Olladra’s shrines are particularly large and well-attended. The surrounding buildings provide residences for the acolytes and priests of the temple. In the south part of the ward, a number of vacant buildings denote the crumbling emptiness of the Church of the Silver Flame.
Abandoned Cathedral of the Silver Flame: Thrane and Aundair were frequent enemies during the Last War, and relations between them haven’t improved much since the war has ended. This tall, imposing cathedral was one of the largest outside Thrane’s borders, and it was a frequent sendoff point for many Silver Flame missionaries to the west. But when the Church of the Silver Flame seized control of Thrane after Thalin’s death in 914 YK, King Wrogar ordered the cathedral closed, and its clerics fled rather than face arrest.
The cathedral has lain vacant ever since. A fewlooters have explored its many chambers, but most Fairhaveners regard the place as haunted. Few children willingly walk within the cathedral’s shadow, believing that “Thrane ghosts” will get them if they do. Even adults regard it as bad luck to stand within the cathedral’s shadow—or even to acknowledge its presence. The entire city does its best to pretend that the cathedral isn’t there.
One of Fairhaven’s most powerful criminal syndicates, the Dark Dagger Gang, has seized the opportunity that the city’s deliberate amnesia presents. The changeling head of the syndicate, Kreelo (describedbelow), has moved his headquarters into the cathedral.Now the Dark Dagger gang plots to rule Fairhaven’s underworld from amid the tattered tapestries and shattered stained-glass windows of the former cathedral.
Whiteroof Ward: Named for the light gray slate roofs on many of the buildings, the Whiteroof Ward handles much of the city’s river shipping. A rough-and-tumble part of town, Whiteroof is home to Fairhaven’s transient half-elf population. The “river elves” of Whiteroof spend about half their time idling in Fairhaven and the rest of it fishing the Aundair River or shipping cargo downriver to Scions Sound. The half-elves have a reputation up and down the river as schemers and con artists, but as canny business owners as well. Most Aundairians say that you’ll either get the best deal of your life from a Whiteroof half-elf, or you’ll get cheated and left empty-handed.
The Whiteroof half-elves tend to be more cosmopolitan than most Aundairians. They’re among the few Aundairians who regularly trade with Thrane, for example. Many an Aundairian bard, half-elf or not, traces his love of story and song to an encounter with a Whiteroof “river elf” that told magical tales of life on the Aundair River.
Knowledge Ward: The University of Wynarn (described below) dominates the Knowledge Ward. The rest of the ward is given over to meager student housing, inexpensive public houses, and a small enclave of several hundred kalashtar.
House Jorasco Citadel: Adventurers naturally want to know where to go to have a slain comrade raised from the dead. Fairhaven’s most potent healer is Haneela d’Jorasco (LN female halfl ing cleric 13). She’ll perform raise dead immediately for 6,000 gp in goods or coin as long as she’s convinced that she’s not raising a wanted criminal. Given 24 hours notice, she can cast resurrection for 11,000 gp in goods or coin. Haneela channels divine power from the spiritual remnants of the Dragon Above, so she’s affiliated with no particular deity.
The alabaster spires of Queen Aurala’s palace, Fairhold, dominate the city skyline. Yet despite their grandeur, the denizens of Fairhaven scurry about their business, oblivious to the architecture that towers over them. Cask-filled wagons, tasseled stallions, and scurrying pedestrians crowd the streets, and the shouts of vendors and laughter of revelersfill the air.
Notable NPCs
In a city of more than 90,000 people, it’s certain that characters can find an NPC of nearly every description if they look hard enough. The following NPCs all possess information, skills, or access that make typical PCs want to interact with them.Castellan Fulirno (LN female human expert 4): Queen Aurala doesn’t grant an audience to unannounced visitors, no matter how outlandish their tales. It falls to Castellen Adele Fulirno to interview and vet those who have business for the queen or any of the senior ministers. Fulirno works closely with the queen and has a strong, but not infallible sense of the queen’s priorities. She even suspects that Aurala’s ambitions lie beyond leading Aundair to claiming the Galifar crown at Thronehold.
Kreelo (CE male changeling rogue 7): The most wanted criminal in Fairhaven, Kreelo leads the Dark Dagger Gang. His control of the city’s underworld is far from absolute, but his gang is the city’s strongest.
The Dark Daggers make most of their money running protection rackets and smuggling contraband (everything from poisons and evil magic to barrels of untaxed wine) into and out of the city. If the PCs do any significant business with Fairhaven’s black marketeers, they have a good chance of attracting Kreelo’s attention.
Kreelo was a bold changeling as a youth—while in disguise, he even met Queen Aurala—but now he rarely leaves his bodyguards and the safety of the abandoned Silver Flame cathedral from which he controls his criminal empire. He knows that everyone from the Royal Eyes to rival gang lords would love to put his head on a pike.
Thothar (CG male human bard 10): Thothar is one of the city’s best-known gadfl ies, a soapbox orator who advocates nonviolent “revolution of the masses” and a democracy so laissez-faire that it borders on anarchy. The Royal Eyes keeps a close eye on him and arrests him periodically, but Thothar is careful not to explicitly advocate elimination of the crown or violence against any government apparatus.
Most Fairhaveners regard Thothar with a sympathetic ear, even if they realize that a consensus-driven society would never come to pass. But because Thothar moves in all circles of Fairhaven’s civic life, he’s one of the most well-informed residents of the city, capable of dishing out more rumor, gossip, and little-known fact than the nosiest courtier. He’s also an attentive student of magic, a knack he claims is a result of “a clear-headed revolution of the mind.”
Thothar willingly casts legend lore, identify, or other spells in his repertoire on behalf of characters whom he thinks have the potential to become altruistic revolutionaries. If he doesn’t think you have sufficient revolutionary fervor, however, no amount of money will change his mind.
Thothar is also a good source when PCs are making Gather Information checks within Fairhaven. He can be found in nearly any ward of the city, preaching a rose-colored future from a box on the sidewalk.
Tirah the Shark (CN female half-elf ranger 6): Tirah is the quintessential Whiteroof half-elf; in the last century she’s been a smuggler, a legitimate merchant, an angler, and even a river privateer in ScionsSound. She’s now reached middle age for a half-elf, and she finally owns her own keelboat: Darandra’s Thrill. Accordingly, she’s a little more cautious about any dangerous or extralegal undertakings. She still undertakes them, of course, but she hems and haws about it first.
No one knows the Aundair River better than Tirah the Shark, and no one’s more adept at eluding the Aundairian revenue cutters—or bribing the ones she can’t outmaneuver. Tirah’s a good source for characters who want to slip into or out of Fairhaven surreptitiously. Darandra’s Thrill has been known to make pickups and dropoffs on deserted Thrane beaches as well.
Typical City Watch (N human fighter 1): A typical member of the city watch has chainmail armor, a heavy crossbow, a ranseur, and a sap. Two to six members of the watch comprise a typical patrol, depending on the neighborhood.
Type
Capital
Location under
Comments