Tyria
The Purple Rock
Demographics
Racial make-up: 33% human; 24% half-elf; 24% dragonborn; 8% high elf; 5% kenku; 3% other
Ethnic make-up: 53% Mashiqi humanoids; 27% Qartagonian; 12% Iskendran; 7% Pilgrim; 2% other
Government
Tyria is the capital of the Principality of Tyria and is the seat of the Pilgrim Fulk Dynasty. The laws of Tyria are the same as those defined in the Heavenly Codex's Code Legal and are enforced by the city's Purplecapes and the Brotherhood of Bronze.
Defences
The city is built onto a large limestone rock island with high cliffs that prevent any attack by land. A single stone bridge connects the island to the shore but is well defended and narrow enough that siege engines cannot be wheeled along it. Even the harbor's caves are protected by barbicans and gate houses which allows the city's defenders to hold the settlement even if the harbor itself is taken.
Industry & Trade
Tyria’s most infamous treasures are their snails. Along this stretch of coast, rare murex snails are found in reasonable abundance compared to the rest of the world. These snails produce a mucus that can be extracted. When mixed with other chemical agents, the mucus creates a brilliant purplish-blue dye. Moreover, this dye cannot be replicated through magical means for it has its own unique magical properties to it (wearing a garment with this dye gives a +1 to all Charisma checks.) However, the process for extracting this dye and cultivating the snails that produce it is extraordinarily labor intensive. As a result, Tyrian dye is considered one of the greatest luxury products in the world and the Tyrian dyers guard their monopoly on the craft with deadly force. The punishment for being found with a living murex snail outside of the Grotto Crofts is death by crucifixion.
In addition to mundane murex snails, Tyria is the only place in the world where flail snails can be raised and bred. The unique damp climate of the numerous tunnel systems of the Purple Rock is perfect for snails. Those who tend to the finicky flail snails are known as snail shepherds. These shepherds buy raw quartz and crystal dust which they sprinkle throughout the Grotto Crofts. The snails then slowly consume the dust and leave behind a trail of shimmerglass. This shimmerglass is inedible to the snail but it can be harvested and cut to form windowpanes of varying clearness. However, unlike traditional glass, shimmerglass is extraordinarily durable and even resists some magical effects, allowing for its use in both architecture and alchemy.
While being a Snail Shepherd has always been grueling work, in recent years, the Dyer’s Guild has endeavored to squeeze the shepherds out of decision making about prices and diverted profits away from the organization. Today, few multigenerational shepherds remain and the work tends to only appeal to the lowest members of society. As a result, many refugees, both Mashiqi and Qartagonian can be found in the tunnels, along with the ever present kenku. Many shepherds now are weighing smuggling snails to make ends meet, despite the risks.
Infrastructure
The Storage Tunnels
This is where the city’s merchants store their goods before sale or transport out of the port. About half of them are public storehouses for independent merchants. A quarter of them are owned by the Frosted Gold Company. The rest are owned by either the crown or the Dyer’s Guild. The public warehouses are locked at 7:00 pm and open at 9:00 am but lack any further security. The Frosted Gold Company’s tunnels are patrolled by their own company of guards. The Dyer’s Guild’s tunnels are guarded by the town guard, largely men taken from the ranks of the various chivalric orders like the Brotherhood of Bronze. The Cave Market
The Cave Market is where merchants sell ocean-borne cargo. These include seafood, weapons, finished goods from other places. The largest vendor is of course, the Dyer’s Guild. The majority of dye and snail products are sold in this market. Though almost anything can be found here, because of the bulk nature of the market, prices are lower but don’t come in smaller quantities. Adventurers are better off visiting the Bridge Market. However, the sale of dyed cloth both tailored and uncut, along with the sale of shell armor is all regulated here. The Grotto Crofts
The most expansive series of tunnels within the Purple Rock are the Grotto Croft. These damp tunnels cover almost four kilometers and range in size from narrow passages no more than three feet wide to massive chambers fifty feet across. Only a few entrances can be found to the Crofts, and most of them are inaccessible to humanoids. A number of natural wells of sea water can be found within the cave system, which supplies the tunnels with the damp moisture needed for the cultivation of murex and flail snails. The Crofts themselves are divided into two types of tunnels—the Pools and the Track. The Pools The Pools are large, shallow cisterns of salt water. The cisterns connect directly to the sea through vents controlled by stone valves built into the rock itself. Fresh sea water is continually pumped into the pools to ensure the murex have enough bromide to produce the brilliant blues and purples. Each pool has a different ratio of sea water pumping into the chamber, so that each pool’s snails can produce a unique color of dye. The Track The Track’s tunnels averages about ten feet wide by ten feet tall. Here, flail snails are driven on a slow march across the tunnels in a great circle. Crystalline dust is sprinkled along the trail to provide the snails nourishment and activate their glands to produce shimmerglass. A series of small chambers branch off from the main track to provide the snails with a place to rest and also allows the Shepherds easy access to the surface through secret tunnels. Because of the enclosed nature of the track, air quality in the caverns is quite poor and most shepherds wear masks to compensate. Additionally, the tunnels are not entirely a closed, safe loop. Occasionally, predators such as octopuses, giant centepedes, gricks, darkmantles, and even kuo-toa find their way into the sea springs and feast upon the slow moving, easy prey. As a result, a convoy of snails always has at least one shepherd armed with a spear to escort it through the track. Despite being roughly a circle, not all of the track is mapped. Occasionally, a snail wanders off the path down one of the unmarked passageways prompting a shepherd to go after it and retrieve the lost snail. Shepherds also must tend to the natural fungus and ecology of the tunnels. Dangerous fungi like violet fungus and yellow mold must be eradicated while helpful organisms such as candlecaps must be cultivated. Cave barnacles, ganglers, giant isopods, and cave crabs all make the Track their home and are in some way important to the growth of flail snails and their food. None of these creatures are dangerous to humanoids or the snails. The Bridge Market
You find yourself in a crowded town square surrounded by small shops, stalls, and a ceaseless din of merchants. You smell the funk of living and butchered creatures, the sweet rot of fruit in the sunshine, and the sweat of a hundred shopping souls. You gather that any goods that can’t be found in the Cave Market or any goods produced and purchased by locals can be found here near the bridge.
This is where the city’s merchants store their goods before sale or transport out of the port. About half of them are public storehouses for independent merchants. A quarter of them are owned by the Frosted Gold Company. The rest are owned by either the crown or the Dyer’s Guild. The public warehouses are locked at 7:00 pm and open at 9:00 am but lack any further security. The Frosted Gold Company’s tunnels are patrolled by their own company of guards. The Dyer’s Guild’s tunnels are guarded by the town guard, largely men taken from the ranks of the various chivalric orders like the Brotherhood of Bronze. The Cave Market
The Cave Market is where merchants sell ocean-borne cargo. These include seafood, weapons, finished goods from other places. The largest vendor is of course, the Dyer’s Guild. The majority of dye and snail products are sold in this market. Though almost anything can be found here, because of the bulk nature of the market, prices are lower but don’t come in smaller quantities. Adventurers are better off visiting the Bridge Market. However, the sale of dyed cloth both tailored and uncut, along with the sale of shell armor is all regulated here. The Grotto Crofts
The most expansive series of tunnels within the Purple Rock are the Grotto Croft. These damp tunnels cover almost four kilometers and range in size from narrow passages no more than three feet wide to massive chambers fifty feet across. Only a few entrances can be found to the Crofts, and most of them are inaccessible to humanoids. A number of natural wells of sea water can be found within the cave system, which supplies the tunnels with the damp moisture needed for the cultivation of murex and flail snails. The Crofts themselves are divided into two types of tunnels—the Pools and the Track. The Pools The Pools are large, shallow cisterns of salt water. The cisterns connect directly to the sea through vents controlled by stone valves built into the rock itself. Fresh sea water is continually pumped into the pools to ensure the murex have enough bromide to produce the brilliant blues and purples. Each pool has a different ratio of sea water pumping into the chamber, so that each pool’s snails can produce a unique color of dye. The Track The Track’s tunnels averages about ten feet wide by ten feet tall. Here, flail snails are driven on a slow march across the tunnels in a great circle. Crystalline dust is sprinkled along the trail to provide the snails nourishment and activate their glands to produce shimmerglass. A series of small chambers branch off from the main track to provide the snails with a place to rest and also allows the Shepherds easy access to the surface through secret tunnels. Because of the enclosed nature of the track, air quality in the caverns is quite poor and most shepherds wear masks to compensate. Additionally, the tunnels are not entirely a closed, safe loop. Occasionally, predators such as octopuses, giant centepedes, gricks, darkmantles, and even kuo-toa find their way into the sea springs and feast upon the slow moving, easy prey. As a result, a convoy of snails always has at least one shepherd armed with a spear to escort it through the track. Despite being roughly a circle, not all of the track is mapped. Occasionally, a snail wanders off the path down one of the unmarked passageways prompting a shepherd to go after it and retrieve the lost snail. Shepherds also must tend to the natural fungus and ecology of the tunnels. Dangerous fungi like violet fungus and yellow mold must be eradicated while helpful organisms such as candlecaps must be cultivated. Cave barnacles, ganglers, giant isopods, and cave crabs all make the Track their home and are in some way important to the growth of flail snails and their food. None of these creatures are dangerous to humanoids or the snails. The Bridge Market
You find yourself in a crowded town square surrounded by small shops, stalls, and a ceaseless din of merchants. You smell the funk of living and butchered creatures, the sweet rot of fruit in the sunshine, and the sweat of a hundred shopping souls. You gather that any goods that can’t be found in the Cave Market or any goods produced and purchased by locals can be found here near the bridge.
Assets
The Pools—live murex snails, murex snail eggs and murex snail dye
The Track—live flail snails, flail snail eggs, flail snail shells, and shimmerglass
Guilds and Factions
Dyer's Guild
The Snail Shepherds
The Frosted Gold Company
The Brotherhood of Bronze
History
During the Mithril Age, Tyria was an independent kingdom. It was considered the most powerful kingdom on the Brass Coast and was for many centuries considered impregnable. However, according to legend, the city’s king insulted a suitor for his daughter, Princess Athirat. The suitor revealed himself to be an ancient blue dragon named Sahrodiir. The blue dragon devoured the king and the queen and all the royal princes before sacking the city. Sahrodiir then commanded the distraught citizens to bow before him as king. He kept the princess as a prize and ruled as a tyrant for many years. The legendary hero Abner is said to have snuck into the impregnable city and won the heart of the princess before finally devising a cunning ruse to kill the dragon.
The Mithril Age also saw the arrival of Tyria’s famous kenku population. With the Betrayal of Myurdin, the kenku lost their ability to fly and in their shame dispersed throughout the world. Many kenku fled to Tyria and its lofty peak and built the first humanoid tunnel systems in the city.
Prior to the Sundering Arcana, Tyria was one of two ports that serviced the land of the Mashiq. It was also a primary center for the slave trade. All kenku residents were declared ‘traitors to the heavens’ and enslaved to do penance for their crimes. It was also during this period that Tyria’s most important export was introduced. Flail snails are considered imposible to breed in captivity—except in Tyria. The unique damp climate of the numerous tunnel systems of the Purple Rock is perfect for both murex snails and their larger, magical cousins, the flail snails.
Following the Sundering Arcana, Tyria soon fell into the hands of the dragonborn rebels and became a major city with its own Emir. For the next three hundred and fifty years, the city returned to glory as a hub for trade. Kenku rights were also expanded in this period and all kenku were freed from bondage, though most remained impoverished.
Fifty years ago, the entire region became engulfed in the First Pilgrim War. The Emirs of Qartagonia believed, just as Sahrodiir did, that the city was truly impregnable. During the early years of the war, Tyria became a true foe to the Pilgrims. A failed siege did much to dissuade the Pilgrims from attacking it. However, one Pilgrim, Lord Fulk II of Clarilet, was not deterred. Using the on-going siege of Alameen as cover, Fulk and his allies found a hidden grotto in the base of the rock. They proceeded to dig into the rock itself and found a massive tunnel system, likely dating back to the Mithril Era. Some accounts claim Fulk’s party encountered a descendant of Sahrodiir himself and killed the dragon, though this is unlikely. Regardless, Fulk and his friends made it into the city. They proceeded to torch all of the ships hidden in the Cave Harbor and signaled a company of soldiers on two galleys near by to land in the harbor. They then opened the inner gates and sacked the city. Fulk was declared king of Tyria and ushered in a new period of Pilgrim rule.
Architecture
Limestone or stucco walled buildings with terracotta tiled roofs. Walls are brightly colored with various cheap dyes that can be found throughout the city for all social and economic classes. Buildings are crammed in next to one another leading to narrow alleys and many covered passageways. Few larger buildings or manors contain gardens while the rest of the city is mostly comprised of stone and rubble.
Geography
Tyria rests atop a massive limestone rock in the Sea of Brass less than a mile from the mainland of the Nioan Mashiq. Fertile coastal fields cover the shoreline and two sets of rugged hills clipped by salty winds frame the east and west.
Natural Resources
The greatest natural resource for the Tyriac people are the abundance of snails and snail habitat located just below their feet in the tunnels of the Rock. These tunnels are the only places in the whole world where murex and flail snails are able to be domesticated on a large scale, which has contributed to the wealth of the city (see Industry section for more details.)
Alternative Name(s)
The Purple Rock; the Rock of Sahrodiir; the Rock of Pearls;
Type
Capital
Population
30,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Tyrian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Related Professions
Related Materials
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