Mining Towns: Blackstone, Steaming Spring, and Diamond Lake

Blackstone, Diamond Lake, and Steaming Springs are small mining towns governed and protected by the Free City of Greyhawk. The city frequently dispatches adventurers to quell threats to the towns’ miners and mining operations, which of late includes agents of Iuz intent on destabilizing the city’s economy.

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The Free City of Greyhawk governs and protects these three industrial communities, which serve as hubs for mining, smelting, and trade.

Each town is similar in structure and function, differing primarily in location and geography.

Blackstone

Nestled in a steep-sided canyon of dark granite, Blackstone is scarred by countless mine entrances, some of which are hundreds of feet up sheer cliffs.

• During wet seasons, a breathtaking 500-foot waterfall cascades into a once-crystalline lake.
• Miners reach cliffside tunnels via precarious trails, switchbacks, or massive cranes.

Steaming Spring

This muddy settlement sits in a wider valley dotted with geysers that frequently spew scalding water, steam, and mud into the air.

• Unlike Blackstone, which sits on rock, Steaming Spring is built on ever-softening earth.
• From a distance, the town appears as a brown smudge, a stark contrast to the verdant valley it once was.

Diamond Lake

The smallest and most remote of the mining towns, Diamond Lake supports the largest number of mines.

• The lake it was named after was once crystal clear, but is now stained and polluted.
• The shoreline is clogged with mine tailings and ceaseless activity as commerce thrives.

Governance & Law

Each town is overseen by a Governor-Mayor, an appointed official of Greyhawk.

• Governor-Mayors are always experienced fighters (5th-8th level) with at least twenty years of service.
• They command Greyhawk’s garrisons to maintain order, protect the mines, and ensure operations run smoothly.
• Mine managers—often ambitious nobles—lease mines for life, sharing half of their yields with Greyhawk.

Town Features

Common buildings across the three towns include:

• Large boarding houses for miners
• Smoky smelting houses
• Smithies, wainwrights, and carpenters
• A bustling teamster yard with draft horses and wagons
• Markets selling expensive fresh food and poor-quality dried goods
• Numerous taverns, inns, dance halls, and brothels catering to the rough, unmarried workforce

While mine managers live in luxury, Governor-Mayors and skilled artisans such as the Chief Smelter or Master Smith reside in modest but comfortable homes.