The Grey Citadel of Dun Eamon
Located high in the mist-shrouded mountain crags of the Stoneheart Mountains, it is a city like no other. Locally known as the Grey Citadel, Dun Eamon is an important trading city and a key crossing point on the turbulent river. Thanks to its economy, Dun Eamon is highly successful, but its remote location also ensures that it will never be terribly sophisticated.
The River Eamon has only one viable crossing in the Stoneheart Mountains — a broad ford at the base of a plunging waterfall. Just below the ford, the river tumbles several hundred feet over a second waterfall before continuing down the rocky gorge. Midway across the ford, a huge slab of bedrock divides the river into two channels. On this island, many generations ago, Eamon Angus staked a claim and founded a tiny trading post. Now, centuries later, expansion of the duchies and kingdoms on either side of the Stoneheart Mountains and the development of trade between them have caused the tiny trading center and way station to grow into a heavily fortified citadel, with the charter and lordship still in the hands of the Angus family.
Three brothers rule the city. Arb Angus is the eldest; he inherited the land and title from his father. Bron is the middle brother and the Captain of the Mist Watch. Cael is the youngest brother and Master of the Temple of Fortitude. More than 5,000 citizens dwell within the city walls and pay homage to the brothers. The Grey Citadel is renowned as the location of the finest forges in the land. Nearly any tool, weapon, or other metal item can be crafted here, and the quality of their alloys and the strength of their castings are unsurpassed. The quality and availability of tools and the location on the trade road have resulted in Dun Eamon becoming a city of artisans and craftsmen. The attention of foreign guilds wishing to expand their influence and tap the region’s unique market has also been attracted, but the Angus family has always enforced strict regulations that limit guild activity and encourage free trade. Today’s rulers are no exception, and their policies have not made them popular among the powerful merchant houses.
In addition to its mercantile presence, the Grey Citadel is a well-known frontier fortress. In times of war, its walls are the outer line of defense for the lowland below the Stoneheart Mountains. Many hunters and trappers pass through the gates every season to sell their pelts and to re-supply for another trip into the wild mountains. It is a hiring point for caravan laborers and guards for the dangerous journey over the mountains to the distant kingdoms beyond. Traveling minstrels, adventurers, and highwaymen all call the city home from time to time.
The people of Dun Eamon are hardy and self-sufficient; hardships are taken in stride, and respect is reserved for those who have earned it. Two dominant social groups exist in the city, and they are usually at odds with each other. The woodsmen who occupy the forested slopes around the citadel regard the merchant class as arrogant foreigners from pampered lowland cities; the merchants regard the woodsmen as savages whose uncouth lifestyle they tolerate only in the interests of profit. Rangers, druids, and barbarians are welcomed into the community, as are fighters and bards to a slightly lesser degree. Paladins are not unwelcome, but the citizens are intolerant of judgment by outsiders. Dun Eamon attracts plenty of rogues, mostly bandits and highwaymen rather than burglars. Wizards and monks are uncommon, mostly due to the lack of social refinement. Clerics and sorcerers are not treated any differently than anywhere else. Adventuring parties are generally regarded as a natural part of the traffic through the gates.
In appearance, the Grey Citadel of Dun Eamon is imposing yet dreary. Its stone buildings are quarried from the same grey basalt as the bedrock on which they sit, as are the city walls and the keep. The rest of the buildings are half-timbered two- and three-story structures, with roofs of thatch or shingle. The cobblestone streets and alleys are always shiny and damp, and everything in the city hosts at least a thin sheen of green moss; many buildings even have thick clumps of ferns growing on the roof. Amid the green-forested slopes and drifting grey rain clouds, the grey-green edifices of the city blend right in.
The trade road bisects Dun Eamon through the lower city, and a massive gatehouse guards each entrance where the road rises up from the ford. A rampart wall surrounds the entire island, with watchtowers evenly distributed along it. Where the second falls spill over the edge, the island rises steeply to a flat-topped promontory. On this slab of rock sits the upper city, consisting of the craftsman’s district, the vast market, and the largest taverns. Rising from the very tip of the island and towering over the dizzying waterfall is the Angus castle and keep, the central point of defense for the entire region.
The River Eamon has only one viable crossing in the Stoneheart Mountains — a broad ford at the base of a plunging waterfall. Just below the ford, the river tumbles several hundred feet over a second waterfall before continuing down the rocky gorge. Midway across the ford, a huge slab of bedrock divides the river into two channels. On this island, many generations ago, Eamon Angus staked a claim and founded a tiny trading post. Now, centuries later, expansion of the duchies and kingdoms on either side of the Stoneheart Mountains and the development of trade between them have caused the tiny trading center and way station to grow into a heavily fortified citadel, with the charter and lordship still in the hands of the Angus family.
Three brothers rule the city. Arb Angus is the eldest; he inherited the land and title from his father. Bron is the middle brother and the Captain of the Mist Watch. Cael is the youngest brother and Master of the Temple of Fortitude. More than 5,000 citizens dwell within the city walls and pay homage to the brothers. The Grey Citadel is renowned as the location of the finest forges in the land. Nearly any tool, weapon, or other metal item can be crafted here, and the quality of their alloys and the strength of their castings are unsurpassed. The quality and availability of tools and the location on the trade road have resulted in Dun Eamon becoming a city of artisans and craftsmen. The attention of foreign guilds wishing to expand their influence and tap the region’s unique market has also been attracted, but the Angus family has always enforced strict regulations that limit guild activity and encourage free trade. Today’s rulers are no exception, and their policies have not made them popular among the powerful merchant houses.
In addition to its mercantile presence, the Grey Citadel is a well-known frontier fortress. In times of war, its walls are the outer line of defense for the lowland below the Stoneheart Mountains. Many hunters and trappers pass through the gates every season to sell their pelts and to re-supply for another trip into the wild mountains. It is a hiring point for caravan laborers and guards for the dangerous journey over the mountains to the distant kingdoms beyond. Traveling minstrels, adventurers, and highwaymen all call the city home from time to time.
The people of Dun Eamon are hardy and self-sufficient; hardships are taken in stride, and respect is reserved for those who have earned it. Two dominant social groups exist in the city, and they are usually at odds with each other. The woodsmen who occupy the forested slopes around the citadel regard the merchant class as arrogant foreigners from pampered lowland cities; the merchants regard the woodsmen as savages whose uncouth lifestyle they tolerate only in the interests of profit. Rangers, druids, and barbarians are welcomed into the community, as are fighters and bards to a slightly lesser degree. Paladins are not unwelcome, but the citizens are intolerant of judgment by outsiders. Dun Eamon attracts plenty of rogues, mostly bandits and highwaymen rather than burglars. Wizards and monks are uncommon, mostly due to the lack of social refinement. Clerics and sorcerers are not treated any differently than anywhere else. Adventuring parties are generally regarded as a natural part of the traffic through the gates.
In appearance, the Grey Citadel of Dun Eamon is imposing yet dreary. Its stone buildings are quarried from the same grey basalt as the bedrock on which they sit, as are the city walls and the keep. The rest of the buildings are half-timbered two- and three-story structures, with roofs of thatch or shingle. The cobblestone streets and alleys are always shiny and damp, and everything in the city hosts at least a thin sheen of green moss; many buildings even have thick clumps of ferns growing on the roof. Amid the green-forested slopes and drifting grey rain clouds, the grey-green edifices of the city blend right in.
The trade road bisects Dun Eamon through the lower city, and a massive gatehouse guards each entrance where the road rises up from the ford. A rampart wall surrounds the entire island, with watchtowers evenly distributed along it. Where the second falls spill over the edge, the island rises steeply to a flat-topped promontory. On this slab of rock sits the upper city, consisting of the craftsman’s district, the vast market, and the largest taverns. Rising from the very tip of the island and towering over the dizzying waterfall is the Angus castle and keep, the central point of defense for the entire region.
Demographics
80% human
8% dwarf
5% half-elf
3% halfling
2% elf
2% half-orc
8% dwarf
5% half-elf
3% halfling
2% elf
2% half-orc
Government
Conventional
Lord Arb Angus, male human (Lord of Eamonvale)
Captain Bron Angus, male human (Captain of the Mist Watch)
Master Cael Angus, male human (Master of the Temple of Fortitude — cleric of the God of Strength).
Assets
4,291,500 gp
15,000 gp limit
15,000 gp limit
MAP KEY
A - Gatehouse
B - Public Stables
C - Caravan Camp
D - Market Caravan
E - Market
F - Rainment Row
G - Grocer's Lane
H - Crafthall
I - Temple of Fortitude
J - Garrison
K - Angus Keep
L - Bannon's Tower
M - Shrine of the Sun
O - The Hole
P - The Bathhouse
Q - Ironworks
R - The Millworks
S - Stump's Hovel
T - The Rootcutter
U - Waterfront
Alternative Name(s)
Dun Eamon, a.k.a. the Grey Citadel
Type
City
Population
5,722; Mixed
Included Locations
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