Drink Supplies

© RDD Wilkin / Spilled Ale Studios

Given its location, Ramshackle has to work harder than most cities to provide its citizens potable fluids. There is a natural spring on Shrine Island, but the water from the spring can’t be disseminated across the city on an industrial scale.

The populace drink more alcohol, albeit heavily watered down, than they do pure water. Ramshackle is heavily dependent on imports to provide these drinks, though the city does produce its own brand of Ramshacke Rum from sugarcane grown on the garden rafts. Sales of the rum supplement the city’s coffers nicely.

The city does have access to fresh water, though getting to the nearest supply and then bringing heavy containers home via Ramshackle’s troublesome alleyways is more than inconvenient enough to dissuade most people. The city’s artificers and priests can be thanked for providing the means for supplying water:

• Artificers from the House of Hermetics created marvellous fountains that draw water up from the ocean below a raft and convert it through magical means into clean, salt-free water. These fountains have deep basins into which a citizen can dip a large jug without issue. Freshwater fountains are dotted around the city, never more than a few rafts away (and larger rafts typically have several to themselves). In addition to any others, there is always one such fountain on a garden raft as well as nearby to any civic building.

• All of the city’s clerics prepare create or destroy water daily. In addition, the clerics of the Sea God often become magic initiates so they can learn the shape water and control flames cantrips which allow the cleric to aid in fire-fighting actions. Priests that aren’t clerics become cleric magic initiates, choosing create or destroy water as their first level spell selection. Non-cleric priests of the Sea God become druid magic initiates, choosing create or destroy water and the shape water and control flames cantrips.

• Each of Ramshackle’s churches and temples has a large basin within the building, which the clergy fill with fresh water at the beginning of the day (and continue to refill as the need arises, if there are enough clergy to do so. Any citizen is welcome to take from a church’s freshwater basin, provided they’re willing to enter the church and risk an attempt at religious conversion!

• The city’s clerics are always willing to teach a wealthy private citizen enough magic to cast create or destroy water for themselves and their families, but they do require payment in the form of significant offerings to their church. Refer to the training rules in XGtE for time and cost requirements. If the training period is completed successfully, a player-controlled character can select the Magic Initiate feat the next time they are able to do so. A DM-controlled character gains the feat immediately.

• The Boiler’s Guild boils ocean water to evaporate the liquid and leave behind salt. They collect the vapours and allow them to condense into drinkable water. It doesn’t taste that great by itself, but the guild recruited an alchemist to come up with fruit flavourings, and sell the resulting drinks to Ramshackle’s restaurants.