Kymal

Glitzy. Gilded. Grimy.
The city of Kymal stands as the grumbling ghost of a gold rush mining center now become a haven for gamblers and criminals; a city of gold built atop a mountain of mud. Over two centuries before, the discovery of rich gold veins within the Ironseat Ridge sent a rush of eager folk to its base. Kymal began life as their base camp, and over the next century grew into a lively, booming city. Gold and minerals came out of Kymal, and creature comforts came in. Troupes of players and musicians, merchants peddling food, liquor, and illicit goods arrived in force. Sex workers quickly followed, and those who would abuse them and enslave them were close behind. Unfortunately, the veins began to produce less and less, and in desperation, the mountain was ravaged by hungry interests unwilling to accept the signs. Within ten years, the mining industry in Kymal had died, poverty and hunger becoming commonplace. Since then, the populace has shifted to survival through farming, fishing within the Foramere Basin, and trying to build interest as a trade center like Westruun, without much luck. The community had remained stagnant for decades when an entrepreneur from Ank’Harel named Calis Krishtan opened a small casino called “The Maiden’s Wish.” This gave the economy a vibrant boost, interest in the city grew, and people returned to Kymal as it rebranded as a haven for luck and quick currency. Now expanded over the past two generations, Kymal has now recovered somewhat due to this growing presence of sanctioned games of luck, even going so far as to name Calis’ son, Jaktur Krishtan, heir to the Maiden’s Wish, as the Margrave of Kymal. While larger-scale gambling is not illegal within Tal’Dorei, it is generally considered uncouth on a social level, and the council within Emon is happy to keep the bulk of that element away from the capital city. This type of industry does draw the attention of opportunists, however, and many competitive gambling joints, loan sharks, and criminal interests have sprung up in recent years.
Crime
Kymal is no longer the den of crime it once was, but there is still scum beneath its glitzy surface. Small-time cutpurses lurk in the shadows, waiting to make off with the small fortunes won by the casinos’ luckiest patrons. Though not as significant as their Emon headquarters, the Clasp has a substantial presence in Kymal and often utilizes petty criminals as freelance operatives when they need a job done quickly. Most covertly, the hostility between the Clasp and their rivals, the Myriad, manifests as a quiet proxy war, using these common thieves as fodder. The Clasp and Myriad both own casinos in town, the Wishing Well and the Dragon’s Hoard, respectively.

Demographics

(73% Human, 14% Dwarven, 13% Other)

Government

Government
Margrave Jaktur Krishtan is a businessman and celebrity-turned-politician, unusual within Tal’Dorei. His extravagant lifestyle is not unusual among Tal’Dorei’s leaders, but his flamboyant, showy behavior certainly is—and the people of Kymal love him for it. Instead of leading personally, Jaktur delegates most of his duties to his advisors, leaving him free to do what he likes best: being a fabulously wealthy public icon, making nightly appearances at the Maiden’s Wish, throwing magnificent galas, and organizing street fairs. Jaktur’s majordomo, an austere tiefling woman named Prudence, wearily manages the day-to-day minutiae of running Kymal.

Defences

Crumbling stone walls with guard posts positioned every 1ooft. Under construction/repair after years of neglect. As of now, 60% effective defensibility. The Kymal city guard, also known as the "Black Cloaks" because of their signature uniform, is not as strong as it once was with about 30% of its forces hired out by the city from the Gilded Club. The Margrave strives to maintain a close friendship with the mercenary guild, though he recognizes the danger of relying on mercenaries to defend his city, and how expensive it can be to sustain... the violent fallout of the proxy war between the Clasp and the Myriad has made the city more and more dangerous and many Black Cloaks have perished in its streets as a result.

Industry & Trade

Gambling in all its forms. Legal exports are somewhat limited to mostly crops, fish & other foodstuffs that are grown here and coinage/gem exhanges due to the high volume of wealth. Much of Kymal's more "interesting" wares are imported from outside the city and are usually found in the black market that thrives here, which deals drugs like Zeal, Oloore Root and Suude. But the darkest industry in kymal is the sex trafficking.

Infrastructure

Standard city amenities such as roads and sewers, defensive walls, a race track for gambling. Residential/commercial/government buildings. The Foramere Basin provides fishing, established farmlands provide crops.

Assets

• Inns & Taverns
• Blacksmithy
• Herbalist
• Magic Shop
• Guild Hall (doubles as a bank and city hall)
• Guard barracks
• Jail
• Casinos
• Healer
• General Store
• Farmer's Market Stalls
• Mercenary Barracks: Known throughout Kymal as "The Gilded Club".

Guilds and Factions

• The Council of Taldorei
• The Golden Grin
• The Clasp
• The Myriad
• The Houses of Kraghammer
• The Brawler's League
• The Gilded Club

History

• 616 PD - Gold mines were discovered in the Ironseat Ridge, and the base of settlement that formed around the mining trade became Kymal.

• 750 PD - Gold Mines dry up, Kymal turns to a stagnant ghost town.

• 752 PD - Calis Krishtan Builds the Maiden's Wish Casino and breathes new live into the city.

• 836 PD - After two generations, Calis's son Jaktur Krishtan now leads the city as a prominent celebrity politician, making Kymal famous for its lively galas and festivals.

Architecture

Architecture in Kymal is styled after a 14-15th century French aesthetic. Much like Versailles, the richest flaunt their wealth with grand gardens, immense mansions and countless fineries, but the poorer sections of the city reveal the vast expanse between the classes in the dilapidated, drafty and broken down buildings that too many call home.

Geography

Kymal is built on the rocky foothills of the Ironseat Ridge. Exploring beyond the glamorous city leads one to nothing but a desolate expanse of boulders and scrubbrush.Truly intrepid explorers may find the sealed entrances to the dried-up Kymal Gold Mines, but those who venture inside will find more than just empty caves.

Natural Resources

Quarried stone, crops, livestock, hunting/fishing, clay, metal ore.

Alternative Name(s)

The wealthy elite of Taldorei generally refer to Kymal as a "gilded turd", "sinners hovel" or similar derogetory names.

Type

City

Population

7,991

Inhabitant Demonym

Kymalians

Owner/Ruler

Jaktur Krishtan

Characters in Location

• Jaktur Krishtan