Port Nyanzaru

Shown in map 1.1, Port Nyanzaru is a city of walls within walls. Burgeoning wealth has driven the city’s richest residents to raise defenses against the jungle’s dangers, and possibly against the dangers they perceive from the city’s less-well-off districts, which all lie outside the main wall. The walls are impressive barriers of massive, fitted stone. Like other structures in Port Nyanzaru, they’re decorated with colorful paintings of geometric designs, animals, and mythic figures. The city is defined by four steep hills. The westernmost hill, called Temple Hill because it’s home to the temple of Savras, is completely walled off from lower ground. A wide stone bridge crosses on arched columns from Temple Hill to Throne Hill, site of Goldenthrone. A second bridge connects Throne Hill to the southern slopes, site of several merchant princes’ villas. East of the harbor, the Hall of Gold gleams atop the city’s tallest hill, Mount Sibasa, which is connected by bridge to the neighboring Yklwazi Hill (pronounced yick-ul-WAH-zee), site of the Grand Coliseum. Steep, stepped streets and terraces surround each hill. Outside the main walls are three slums: the Old City to the southwest, where many buildings are remnants of older, pyramidal construction; Malar’s Throat to the south, where buildings cling to the walls of a lush canyon spanned by rope bridges; and Tiryki Anchorage to the southeast, where explorers and river folk gather. About half the city’s population lives crowded together outside the walls, where they’re always exposed to sudden attacks by carnivores or undead. A volunteer citizens’ brigade keeps watch for approaching danger. When residents of the outer wards hear the long blast of warning horns, day or night, they scramble for the safety of the Market Ward and Merchants’ Ward until the all clear sounds. TROUBLESHOOTING There’s enough happening in Port Nyanzaru that you won’t need to rely on random encounters to keep things interesting. That being said, if the players seem restless, use the random encounters in appendix B to spice things up a bit as they’re gathering supplies for their expedition. At any time, the party might run into Volothamp Geddarm (see “City Denizens”). Volo’s familiarity with Port Nyanzaru makes him a font of useful information. If the party doesn’t already have a wilderness guide, he advises characters to secure one before they enter the jungle. Volo might also suggest that characters partake in the dinosaur races (see “Things to Do”). If characters visit Wakanga O’tamu, he gives them the wizard’s journal in his possession. If the party has not yet secured a guide by the time they meet Wakanga, he suggests that the characters arrange one through Jobal. Volo can facilitate an introduction. For more information on guides and their rates, see “Finding a Guide." Map 1.1: Port Nyanzaru View Player Version Old City Three ancient, vine-covered ziggurats tower above this crumbling ward. The whole district is a juxtaposition of ancient and decaying (but still occupied) stone structures interspersed with flimsy new huts and longhouses of bamboo and thatch. The Old City is run by “beggar princes” in a mocking parallel to the merchant princes of the city proper. They have no official authority, but each of them sits atop a web of debts, favors, incriminating information, and loyal muscle that allows them to get things done with an efficiency that the merchant princes sometimes envy. Unlike the merchant princes, whose positions are based on wealth that passes from generation to generation in the same family, the identities and even the number of the beggar princes changes continually. The Old City is run down but it isn’t a slum or a haven for thieves. Most of the residents are lower-class laborers or struggling artisans who can’t afford the higher rents of homes inside the city walls. 1. Beggars’ Palaces The Beggars’ Palaces are the two largest ziggurats of the Old City. Shops and tenements of bamboo are jammed onto the terraces of the ziggurats in wild profusion. The upper levels are cleaner and less crowded than those near street level. A narrow wooden bridge connects the upper levels above the press and noise of the street. 2. Executioner’s Run The road through the Old City splits around a rectangular, stone-lined pit 15 feet deep, 50 feet wide, and 200 feet long. The original Amnian residents built it as an arena for a highly competitive ball game, and it still provides cheap entertainment for the locals. Velociraptors (see appendix D), panthers, or other hungry beasts (a juvenile allosaurus is a guaranteed crowd pleaser) are set loose in the pit, then convicted criminals are dropped in at one end. Any criminals who make it alive through the gauntlet of carnivores to the far end of the pit can scramble up knotted ropes and win their freedom, along with the adulation of the crowd. Spectators line the walls for these spectacles — including representatives from every level of Port Nyanzaru society, not just residents of the Old City. Bets are placed on which criminals will survive, which will die, how far runners will get before a beast brings them down, and how many kills each animal will rack up. A handful of Chultans have become celebrities by surviving multiple dashes through Executioner’s Run. It’s been suggested that some people continue committing crimes solely because a conviction is the only way to get tossed into the pit, and betting is always heaviest on a repeat offender. Occasionally an animal manages to leap or scramble out of the pit and runs amok through the terrified crowd. Moments of such high peril provide a perfect opportunity for bystanders to become heroes in the city and earn favors from the merchant princes. 3. Refuse Pit An enormous sinkhole serves as the city’s garbage dump. Every type of refuse gets tossed here, up to and including dead bodies. It’s a festering scar of garbage, rancid water, and vermin. Rats, insects, and ravens abound. Ghouls are sometimes seen prowling through the pit in search of fresh corpses. Although the level of refuse in the pit rises and falls, the pit never gets full. This is thanks to an unknown number of otyughs living at the bottom and eating their fill daily. They’re content to remain in the bountiful pit, but they’d quickly pounce on anyone careless or unlucky enough to slip on the greasy edge and fall in. Merchants’ Ward The western half of the city is called the Merchants’ Ward because it’s the site of the Grand Souk and because many of the merchant princes’ villas are there. In general, this is the upper-class section of the city. The majority of the city’s merchants and traders actually live and work in the Market Ward. 4. Goldenthrone This palace serves as the meeting place for the merchant princes of Port Nyanzaru and is recognized as the seat of the city’s loose government. It was built decades ago by an Amnian trader and is one of the most opulent structures in the city, rivaled only by the grander temples and the merchant princes’ villas. An honor guard of eight Chultan gladiators is always on duty, to keep away loiterers in the daytime and thieves in the night. Goldenthrone is the best place to meet any of the merchant princes without an appointment. They rarely meet with visitors who show up unannounced at their homes. During the day, each merchant prince has a 1-in-6 chance to be at Goldenthrone, accompanied by a retinue of aides and guards. Characters must wait 1d3 hours before being given an audience. In fact, the merchant princes have few day-to-day responsibilities when it comes to running Port Nyanzaru, so unless a meeting is being held to discuss city business, the delay is just a tactic to underscore who’s in charge. If the characters have interesting news, they’re likely to obtain an audience and to be given as much of the merchant’s time as they need. 5. Merchant Prince’s Villa Each merchant prince has a private villa in the city. These residences have beautifully plastered walls adorned with bright murals, patios and arcades festooned with fresh flowers, garden courtyards open to the sky, and enormous cisterns equipped with water wheels to power fountains, fans, and kinetic sculptures. None of the merchant princes is likely to meet player characters who show up unannounced at their doors unless the characters did something noteworthy (such as winning a dinosaur race, stopping a rampaging carnivore, or completing an expedition that made significant discoveries). The exception is Wakanga O’tamu, who welcomes any adventurers traveling in the company of Syndra Silvane. For details of a sample villa, see “Merchant Prince’s Villa.” 6. Grand Souk The Grand Souk, or market, is one of the three beating hearts of Port Nyanzaru — the others being the jewel market and the Red Bazaar. True to its name, the Grand Souk is the grandest of the three. Traders from up and down the Sword Coast come to this market to buy timber, spices, medicines concocted from jungle plants, dinosaur skulls and claws, iron, tiger pelts, carved ivory, Batiri and grung handiwork, colored feathers, tropical fruit, monkeys, plesiosaur meat, and all the other riches of Chult. Business begins before the sun comes up, and dealing doesn’t stop until well after darkness edges across the city. It’s a noisy, jostling, aroma-rich circus. Guards are numerous, but less numerous than the urchins and pickpockets. Street performers and tabaxi minstrels add to the cacophony. Colorful awnings protect the market from sun and rain but also trap the heat and smells. Everything listed in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook can be purchased in the Grand Souk. Unusual items might not be available (elephants aren’t found in Chult, for example), but a merchant can always be contracted who’ll bring an item to order, for the right price. 7. Temple of Savras Savras is a deity of wizards, fortune tellers, diviners, and those who unfailingly speak the truth regardless of whether listeners want to hear it. His symbol is a monstrous eye, or a crystal ball filled with eyes. Savras’s temple is one of the oldest, grandest buildings in the city. The tiled roof of its great dome resembles an unblinking eye, staring skyward. A deity devoted to revealing the truth might seem to have a weak draw in a city of merchants, but Savras was widely worshiped in Chult long before the Spellplague. In those years, Savras’s clergy were valued because they could keep tabs on the activities of the inscrutable yuan-ti. The snake people still loom large as bogeymen in the imaginations of Chultans, but nowadays the clergy of Savras scries into more mundane matters: portents around business affairs, the outlook for newborn children, and affairs of the heart. The head priest of the temple is Grandfather Zitembe (LG male Chultan human priest). When the characters meet the priest for the first time, he’s in the midst of a heated conversation with three members of the Zhentarim (NE male Tethyrian human assassins) who are looking for Artus Cimber. The Zhents have come to the temple to see if Zitembe can cast a spell to aid in their search. Although the assassins offer payment in the form of a 500 gp ruby, Zitembe senses their evil intentions and shoos them away. The assassins seem hesitant to leave without satisfaction, but the arrival of the characters changes their minds, and they depart with scowls on their faces. The characters’ timely arrival makes Zitembe predisposed to help them. If he’s approached for aid or advice in tracking down the Soulmonger, Zitembe’s first reaction is to express disbelief that the death curse has anything to do with Chult. If characters give a compelling argument or make a donation to the church of at least 25 gp, Zitembe agrees to “consult the guides.” This ritual takes 24 hours, during which Zitembe sees visions of “a jungle city far to the south, enclosed by cliffs and crawling with snakes” and “a black obelisk draped in vines.” He dared not peer any deeper, but he urges the characters to seek out this city and the obelisk. 8. Temple of Gond The boxy stone temple of Gond looms behind the royal docks. It’s popular among Port Nyanzaru’s many artisans, craftspeople, smiths, ivory carvers, and hydro-engineers. Where most such temples have a forge as a centerpiece, this one features an immense fountain whose water jets shift continually to create amazing shapes. It’s all done with nozzles and valves moving on cams, driven by the city’s plentiful water pressure. 9. Temple of Sune Isolated atop a rocky formation in the sea, the temple of Sune is reachable only by an elevated causeway from Temple Hill or by boat. Steep steps wind up the cliff from the temple’s small harbor. When seen from a distance, the temple’s roof seems to float in midair — an illusion created by mirrors lining the outside walls. Inside, Sune’s faithful and casual visitors alike can partake of public baths, receive lessons in applying makeup and styling one’s hair, and learn to dress in a manner that suits the individual’s body, profession, and the climate. Newcomers to the temple must make a Charisma check. Those who score 15 or higher are welcomed as brothers and sisters of Sune; those who score 10 or higher are offered friendly advice on how to improve their presentation; and those who score 9 or less are greeted with sad, sympathetic looks and surrounded by a crowd of coddling devotees. 10. Jewel Market The jewel market is intentionally styled as a miniature, more exclusive version of the Grand Souk. Its chief business is buying and selling the rich supply of jewels that are dug out of Chult’s mines, but many other rare luxury items are also traded here. This market is largely secure against pickpockets and thieves, thanks to the privately hired security agents patrolling it openly (guards) and undercover (spies). All of them work for the merchant prince Zhanthi, who has a monopoly on the jewelry trade in Port Nyanzaru. Harbor Ward Port Nyanzaru’s harbor can accommodate ships of all sizes. The enclosed, eastern portion of the harbor is reserved for the use of the merchant princes, but the rest of the docks are available for use by any ship. If the characters wish to travel by sea, they can book passage on the Brazen Pegasus at a cost of 10 gp per day (for the whole party). A 60-foot sloop built for speed, she has a single mast flying a square mainsail plus two triangular foresails, one aft sail, and a small topsail. All that canvas gives her a top speed of 10 mph under ideal conditions. The Brazen Pegasus is captained by Ortimay Swift and Dark (CG female rock gnome bandit captain with darkvision out to a range of 60 feet), who is both clever and calm. The first mate is Grig Ruddell (N male Illuskan human veteran), a hulking man whose face is almost hidden by a heavy beard streaked with gray. Other than shouting orders at the crew and conversing in low tones with Captain Ortimay, Ruddell barely speaks. The remainder of the crew consists of six sailors (N male and female bandits of various ethnicities). Characters might assume that Ortimay’s chief business is smuggling — and they’d be correct. However, she is happy to take adventurers wherever they need to go. She knows about the dragon turtle in the Bay of Chult and expects the characters to provide the necessary tribute. She also knows that pirates prowl the waters around Chult, though her ship easily outruns theirs. There are no permanent shelters or cabins on the main deck of the Brazen Pegasus. A tarp can be rigged across the aft portion of the deck for shade from the tropical sun. The sailors sleep on deck when weather permits. The lower deck houses Captain Ortimay’s cabin and the cargo hold, which doubles as the crew’s cooking, eating, and sleeping area in foul weather. 11. Royal Docks The term “royal” dates back to the age when Chult was ruled by true kings and queens instead of merchants. Now these docks are reserved for the exclusive use of the merchant princes and those diplomats, dignitaries, and influential foreign merchants whom the merchant princes want to flatter with privilege or impress with magnificence. 12. Statue The statue at the center of the harbor represents an ancient Chultan king in full regalia, resplendent in a loincloth of leopard skin and a headdress of feathers, shells, and tyrannosaurus teeth; draped in a cape of girallon fur and monkey tails; and wielding the traditional oval shield and yklwa of Chult. Residents call it Na N’buso, the Great King. The statue isn’t nearly as ancient as the mythic king it portrays. It was erected just five years ago, at a time when Port Nyanzaru was flexing its new mercantile muscle, to impress on foreigners that Chult is an independent land with a glorious history. Few who see it fail to get the message. 13. Harbormaster’s Office Outside of the harbormaster’s office is a bulletin board that provides the names and whereabouts of several wilderness guides (see “Finding a Guide”). The harbormaster is a half-gold dragon named Zindar (see appendix D). He’s seldom in this sturdy, airy building, however; most of his time is spent dealing with the hundreds of disputes, traffic jams, and other minor problems that crop up every day on a busy quayside. Zindar finds that his imposing personal presence gets issues resolved more quickly and more to his satisfaction than any number of subordinates can accomplish. Clerks in the office seldom know exactly where Zindar is at any time, but messages can be left for him; he’ll leave a reply within 1d6 hours. If characters present themselves as adventurers, Zindar offers them a quest (see “Side Quests”). 14. Lighthouse A flame burns atop the lighthouse day and night to guide ships through darkness, fog, and rain to the harbor. Various powders can be added to the fire to create thick columns of colored smoke that can be seen from Fort Beluarian and from the mines along the Bay of Chult. 15. Fort Nyanzaru The fort contains a winch for raising and lowering an immense iron chain stretched between the fort and the lighthouse. When the chain is raised, no ship can sail into or out of the harbor. The chain hasn’t been raised against attackers in decades, but it’s used occasionally to prevent a ship from slipping out of the harbor with criminals or contraband on board. The fort also mounts two ballistas that can launch heavy bolts or canisters of alchemist’s fire. Its garrison consists of a noble (the castellan), four veterans (officers), and forty guards loyal to the merchant princes. 16. Warehouse District Goods of every type being shipped into or out of Port Nyanzaru are stored in these warehouses. Canals are cut between the rows of warehouses, allowing ships to be towed by harnessed dinosaurs directly to the desired warehouse for easier loading and unloading. A large ship can easily block a canal, so good traffic management is required; that’s one of the harbormaster’s responsibilities. Like any warehouse district, this one is largely deserted at night, making it a good spot for secret meetings and other mischief. 17. Dry Dock Port Nyanzaru isn’t famous for building ships, but many vessels that come here wind up needing hull repairs — especially those that had run-ins with typhoons, pirates, or Aremag the dragon turtle (see “Bay of Chult”). It’s easy work for dinosaurs to drag ships out of the water into the drydock so holes can be patched and barnacles scraped off. Market Ward The Market Ward is where most of Port Nyanzaru’s regular shops are located and where most of its tradesfolk, merchants, and other middle-class residents live and work. 18. Red Bazaar No one knows how the Red Bazaar got its name. One story is that the label comes from the huge slabs of dinosaur meat sold here and the resulting buckets of blood that stain the rain-washed gutters, and that’s probably as good an explanation as any. The residents of Port Nyanzaru shop for their daily needs at the Red Bazaar. Unlike the Grand Souk, which deals heavily in durable goods and luxury items, the Red Bazaar deals in everyday needs: locally produced meat, vegetables, tropical fruit, tej, light tropical clothing, insect repellent, rain catchers, and other household goods. The buyers and sellers in the Red Bazaar are predominantly locals. Inns. Two noteworthy inns are located near the Red Bazaar. The Thundering Lizard caters to a raucous clientele, and a bed for the night costs 5 sp. Kaya’s House of Repose is much quieter, but a bed for the night costs 1 gp. Wilderness guides are known to frequent both establishments, looking for work (see “Finding a Guide”). 19. Fish Market Seafood is a staple in Port Nyanzaru, both because catching fish is easier and safer than hunting dinosaurs, and tender fish tastes better than tough reptile. The fish market is a great place to buy the day’s meals. Prices are higher in the morning, when quality and selection are also better. 20. Grand Coliseum This stone arena is the site of gladiatorial games (usually nonlethal, but accidents happen), bloody animal combats, and spectacular circuses. The best gladiators become celebrities and earn fortunes. Statues of the arena’s greatest champions line the tops of the Grand Coliseum’s walls, including one of the city’s current merchant princes. (Ekene-Afa gained fame and fortune as a gladiator before retiring from the arena to become a trader and politician.) Events are held on most afternoons; only special shows are held after sundown, as the coliseum depends on natural light. During the week, the bill features qualifying matches, consolation bouts, and other small events. Major events, championships, and special extravaganzas are staged on holidays. A holiday show might include a battle between “heroes of legend” and “pirates” (all portrayed by gladiators), a bloody match pitting velociraptors against tigers, or even a contest of mages battling captured ghouls, skeletons, or zombies. 21. Hall of Gold This magnificent structure is a temple to Waukeen, but residents call it the Hall of Gold for its shining, golden roof and for Waukeen’s focus on trade and wealth. Mount Sibasa is the highest point in the city, and when the sun is shining, light glinting off the temple roof can be seen for miles out at sea. Some city residents swear that the roof is sheathed in pure burnished gold, but it’s only paint. A wide stone bridge connects Mount Sibasa to the Grand Coliseum on Yklwazi Hill. The chief priest of Waukeen in Port Nyanzaru is Sibonseni, Mother of Prosperity (LN female Chultan priest). She is one of the city’s most influential residents after the merchant princes, and she enjoys tremendous support from every layer of society for the temple’s charitable work and for its support of civic improvements. In fact, the temple is also one of the city’s richest banks. When Mother Sibonseni travels through the streets, she rides in an elegant sedan chair accompanied by drummers, singers, dancers, and temple aides who distribute fistfuls of copper coins to the poor. Needless to say, this causes traffic jams, but the people of the city love her. 22. Public Bathhouse Port Nyanzaru is a very clean city thanks to the cleansing rain, and its residents are also scrupulous about hygiene. Most would be repulsed by the thought of a day without a bath. Dozens of small bathhouses across the city operate like private clubs, but the public bathhouse is open to everyone and is run by the priesthood of Sune (see area 9). It’s both egalitarian and elegant: wealthy merchants and dock laborers rub elbows in the tiled baths and marble-floored changing rooms. There is no charge, but bathers are requested to leave a donation to the temple of Sune befitting their station in life. Because Chultans are justifiably proud of this facility, even the poorest try to leave at least a copper piece in the giant clamshell by the entrance. Many independent masseurs and masseuses are on hand to massage weary muscles; these services cost 2d10 sp. 23. Dye Works Along with cleanliness, Chultans love colorful clothing. Textile weaving is not one of Chult’s native industries, because the jungle isn’t suited for growing cotton or raising sheep. However, the jungle and the sea provide everything necessary to concoct vibrant dyes in a rainbow of colors. Merchants import light, plain fabrics, which are dyed in vibrant colors and patterns at the dye works before being sold locally or exported back to the regions where the cloth originated. Local tailors craft the fabric into the long shirts, knee-length pants, sarongs, and kilts favored in Port Nyanzaru. The cliff below the dye works and the sea around it are perpetually stained bright orange, blue, red, green, and yellow, depending on what colors are being dumped from the vats that day. People employed at the dye works are easily recognized on the street because their hands and feet are likewise brightly stained. Malar’s Throat This region outside the city walls is Port Nyanzaru’s slum district. Two sheer, jungle-draped ridges flank a deep ravine. Ramshackle buildings cling to the sides of the ridges, each structure seemingly built atop the lower one’s roof. During heavy rain, runoff pours down the ravine, through Ubtao’s Jaws (the large gate in the city wall facing Malar’s Throat), and down the paved streets to the harbor, often sweeping along unattended baskets, dead animals, and even clumsy or unlucky Chultans in its tow. Foot bridges of rope and bamboo hang above the ravine. Some of them are 200 feet long or longer and sway a hundred feet above ground, terrifying the faint of heart. Skilled thieves have been known to drop hooks on thin lines from the bridges and “fish” purses right off victims’ belts. 24. Temple of Tymora Tymora’s temple is built like a sturdy blockhouse of heavy stone. It’s not an elegant structure, but residents rely on it to be a safe refuge when floodwater pours down Malar’s Throat or when the alarm horns blow and there’s no time to reach the safety of the city before undead swarm up the ravine. The people who live in Malar’s Throat don’t consider themselves especially lucky, but what little luck they have, they attribute to the Lady’s presence among them. Tiryki Anchorage This district east of the city is populated by animal trainers, river folk, explorers who need inexpensive lodging, and other rough-and-tumble sorts. Smugglers prefer the unregulated docks of the anchorage over the policed and inspected docks of the harbor, despite the shortage of dock workers and beast-powered cranes to assist in loading and unloading. Unlike Malar’s Throat and the Old City, Tiryki Anchorage has no fortified temple or ancient stone ziggurats where residents can take shelter against undead or carnivores. Most people dash for Tiryki Gate when the alarm sounds and hope to get through before it’s locked ahead of them. Fortunately, the animals in their pens are more sensitive to approaching enemies than humans are, so few creatures are able to sneak into the area undetected. 25. Dinosaur Pens Most of the beasts of burden in the city were trained out here, and they’re penned up at night. Ankylosauruses and triceratopses are the most common in that role. Dinosaurs trained for street racing are also stabled here. Most Chultan handlers have a +5 bonus to Animal Handling skill checks, and they work with the same animals day after day.