Alhaster
The rugged northern shore of the Lake Redhand rises from icy cold waters. Here stands a huge settlement-a vast town perched upon a rocky outcropping. The town curls around a natural harbor that shelters numerous ships, from proud sailing vessels to small rickety fishing sloops. Buildings have been crammed onto the rocky promontory with such congestion that they almost seem afraid of the gray, featureless lands beyond-rotting hills of brown and black and gray stones and vast muddy tidal flats pocked with collapsed structures and stunted trees. The town itself is a montage of different architectural styles, designs, and cultures. Black towers rise ominously along the walls and cliffs surrounding the town, while intimidating golden-domed temples and pagodas cast shadows upon huge wood and stone manor houses that reach cathedral height. Much of the hovels and shanties that were once apart of the Alhaster skyline has since been replaced by proper row houses that protect the citizens of Alhaster much better during the long winter months.
Lord Masari has spent significant coin in restoring the city and fighting the corruption that once choked the city. She has faced a lot of pushback but she has faced each challenge head on. For the most part the city has been largely rebuilt and the Temple of Baphmet has been banished from the city.
Where once the Great Project once sat now sits a large hole leading deep into the warrens of Alhaster. Inside is a dungeon that brings in Ratcatchers to test their metal.
Demographics
80% Human, 8% Half-Orc, 4% hob-goblin, 4% halfling, 4% other races
A strange atmosphere of joy permeates the citizenry of Alhaster for one pervasive reason: the average denizen of this oppressed town is petrified to appear otherwise. They know that the prince's agents are swift to quash any dissent or organized troublemakers. Citizens of Alhaster greet all strangers with forced smiles and greetings such as, "Joy to you this day, stranger!" or "A blessing upon you for visiting our humble land."
The weather-beaten locals typically dress in cast-off clothing from the upper class sold by scroungers in the marketplace. Facial hair is common among men, whilst the women favor wearing their hair long. A typical commoner in Alhaster lives a hard life, barely makes enough to pay for food and board, and thanks his good fortunes every day he isn't robbed, beaten, or worse. This strange attitude spawns an ironically optimistic outlook.
For entertainment, the commonfolk of Alhaster visit the town's numerous taverns, the Alhaster Arena, and Miomay's Playhouse. Storytelling is a favorite pastime for those who cannot afford these pursuits. The heroes of the common folk are those who work by stealth or guile, since it's difficult for anyone who grows up in Alhaster to conceive of a direct physical confrontation resulting in anything less than imprisonment or public humiliation at the delicate hands of Zeech's secret police. One famous yarn called the "Wolfskinner's Story" tells the tale of a thief who lost his love to a wolf pack. The thief caught and skinned a wolf and wore its hide to join the pack, and in time he found himself alone in a meadow with the pack leader, whom he slew. As the pack leader died, it disgorged the bodies of its innocent victims who then rose from death-one of whom was the thief's lover, and the two lived happily ever after in the Redhand Forests. The commonfolk use wild herbs gathered from the surrounding tidal flats to flavor their meat (they love pork when they can get it, but Arctic Greyling and eel are their staples), and use a lot of dumplings in their food as a cheap and efficient way to round out a meal. Most of the taverns brew a thick, herby rum which is mixed with hot water and butter to make a local brew called Grolg (which, if a little salty, is very palatable).
Prince Zeech is fond of throwing festivals, parades, and public displays of his wealth and power. Typically, two similar events occur at the same time. The actual event takes place in High Alhaster and is an invitation-only affair, while the bulk of the populace mirrors the festivities elsewhere, typically in the marketplace or the Alhaster Arena. Crimson and black prayer flags to Baphmet cloak the streets during these festivals, fluttering in the wind. Commoners find themselves overcome with love for Zeech and stand crying out their praises to their ruler. Some are so overcome with false joy that they throw themselves off bridges or tall buildings. Others channel their desperation into more productive (but more dangerous) pursuits. Some of these souls risk the wrath of the town guard and the secret police by forming groups of puppeteers or players who act out satirical scenarios on street corners that depict the ruler of an evil empire being eaten alive by his own followers. Others run an underground movement called the Sinchasers, a group of organized radicals who produce a flyer called the Sinchaser Report on an irregular basis that reports the true atrocities of Prince Zeech. The Watchers and Blessed Angels do their best to gather and destroy the Sinchaser Reports as they surface, but they have never been able to capture all the copies. With each edition, more and more of Alhaster's commonfolk become secret collectors and converts.
Decades of war and toil have made the locals into a very capable group of smugglers, liars, and bluffers. The greatest example of this is the public love for Prince Zeech. Compliments to his greatness are common, often used as interjections in conversations. This false pride in their decadent leader is primarily a result of the omnipresent threat of the Blessed Angels (Alhaster's secret police), who are efficient at capturing, tormenting, and publicly executing rabble-rousers and traitors. The proud locals are different in private. Helpful locals tell stories of the slave camps known as the Glories, or of the madness of Prince Zeech and his pointless obsession with the Great Project (which has already cost hundreds of lives).
Government
Alhaster's current ruler is a fallen paladin styling himself Prince Zeech. His twenty- year rule (the "Days of Joy," as he likes to refer to them) has been a stain on the history of a land already steeped in conflict, wars, and petty lords. Zeech is a tall, thin man with pale skin and long dark hair. He dresses flamboyantly in silks and gowns and has an effeminate air about him. His voice is quiet and considered until his ire is raised, at which point his rage is a match for the worst barbarian's. His cruelty is legendary, and many of his subjects have been executed for nothing more than an inappropriate glance.
Over the twenty years of his rule, Zeech has distanced himself from those who helped him to his throne-allies he never trusted or liked and friends he felt himself far above. Today, Zeech is a tyrant of the worst kind, a despot who believes that he has the greater good at heart. He feels that his rule is just but firm, yet at the same time, he finds it difficult to resist the temptations of decadence and vice. Some part of Zeech's mind realizes Alhaster is drowning in its own sins, but the rest of him revels in his power. His latest project exemplifies his madness. On his orders, a large section of town has been razed. Those who had the misfortune to have homes there have relocated to other locations in the town. A lucky few had some of their costs subsidized by the prince, but most of these displaced citizens were forced to fend for themselves.
In the cleared area, Zeech began construction of the Great Project, an immense ziggurat that he hopes will ensure his entrance to paradise. He first saw this structure in his dreams a great tower rising into the heart of a storm, but soon these dreams began to come to him while awake. In time, these visions convinced him that he was the son of Baphmet, and that his entrance into paradise at Baphmet's side depended on the construction of the ziggurat.
Alhaster Law
Alhaster is a town known to harbor pirates, bandits, thieves, and worse, yet the town itself is remarkably free of blatant crime. The low crime rate is one of the primary benefits that draw so many people to the town, since beyond its walls the rule is survival of the fittest. Of course, this is not to say that Alhaster is wholly without crime-far from it. The criminal element of the town is evident everywhere, with the open selling of slaves, dangerous drugs and magic, and smuggled goods. Yet since these pursuits are regulated and accepted, they can be pursued without the violence that they are associated with in more intolerant regions. Violent crimes still happen in Alhaster (usually at the expense of the poor), but they are quickly hushed up if word of such an event surfaces. It may come as a shock that there isn't a large, organized thieves' guild in Alhaster- such guilds have appeared in the past, but Zeech's agents have grown fairly good at stopping them from growing too large and powerful. In a way, most of the city itself is a massive thieves' guild, with Prince Zeech as guildmaster. Visitors to Low Alhaster tend toward the rough, crude, and brutal, and they spawn most of the town's violent crimes. Fortunately for the town's citizens, these crimes are curtailed by the presence of the Watchers (mercenaries who serve as Alhaster's town guard) and the lurking menace of the Blessed Angels. Of course, these two agencies are used just as often by the prince as tools to bully the populace of Alhaster into complacency. Often, the threat of a visit from one of the Blessed Angels is all it takes to convince a desperate man to agree that the new taxes on his business are quite reasonable after all. Patrols of Watchers are common sights on the town streets. These mercenary guards patrol in groups of four, and are the primary law enforcement in the town. The Watchers have no authority to pass judgment, and are expected to haul anyone they arrest to the dungeons under the barracks, although those who resist are typically beaten or even killed in the process of resisting arrest. Blessed Angels are less common, but hardly a day passes without one winging through the skies above the town on some mission. These erinyes are not coy; they do not cloak their true forms in magic. Yet they are also quite ordered and well-behaved. They focus their attentions solely on special cases that the Watchers are not equipped to handle.Religion in Alhaster
Before the Northern Lands fell, Alhaster was renowned for its diversity of faith. Cathedrals to Odis, Badia, Otarr, and Miva formed the center of religion, surrounded by smaller shrines to numerous other deities. After Alhaster's fall and subsequent assimilation into the Bandit Kingdoms, things changed for the worse. Prince Zeech fancied himself the son of Baphmet, and at his command the cathedral of Odis was desanctified and transformed into a cathedral of Baphmet. He installed a puppet priest on the pulpit, but keeps the actual power of the church relatively low so that he need not worry about competition in the eyes of the Horned King. On the surface, worship of Baphmet seems to be the most prevalent, but in fact, most of the citizens of Alhaster pay him only lip service and either venerate other gods in private or have lost their faith altogether. The other cathedrals have fallen on hard times as well. The cathedral of Badia is run-down and on the verge of collapse; only the constant work of its dwindling faithful keeps it upright. The church of Baphmet tolerates them as a source of buffoonery, yet the hardliners hold out against the day that their numbers will be strong enough to usurp rule of the town. The priesthood of Miva has changed the focus of their venerations from magic to vanity, and earns a tidy profit catering to the needs of the town's nobles. The cathedral of Otarr is now abandoned, and is known only as the Church of Blessed Deliverance; his worshipers are few in town today, although one of them, a half-mad woman named Furpotia, still openly practices her faith out of a hovel known as Sinner's Sanctum. Visitors who worship deities other than Baphmet are generally not harassed by the Watchers, as long as they keep their worship quiet and out of the public eye. Those who attempt to spread their faith in public areas are quickly arrested and locked away in the dungeons below the garrison. Followers of Odis are particularly despised by many of those in power, and those who display their faith can expect to be harassed by patrols of Watchers at every turn. As long as a visiting Odisian resists the urge to crusade against the town guard and the church of Baphmet, though, openly displaying his faith is not quite a great enough offense for arrest.History
During the year 795 NE, Alhaster was ground zero for the Cult of Kyuss in attempting to raise their god Kyuss. This was stopped by a group of Ratcatchers known as the Vandals of Fate. During these events the previous ruler Prince Zeech challenged Masari the Vandals Champion in single combat. Masari arose victorious and claimed leadership of the city.
In the following year circa 796 NE Masari would push to clean out the corruption and unjust of the city, she would institute multiple programs and restoration projects using her own accumulated wealth to rebuild the city. One such project is an academy dedicated to raise future Champions to protect the world just like Masari accomplished.
Maps
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Alhaster
Type
City
Population
3,500
Location under
Included Locations
- Alhaster Arena
- Alhaster Barracks
- Alhaster Boneyard
- Alhaster Church of Badia
- Alhaster Gallows
- Alhaster Harbermaster
- Alhaster Market
- Alhaster Palace
- Alhaster Shipping Concern
- Alhaster Shipyard
- Alhaster Watchtowers
- Angel's Aerie
- Angry Rifter Tavern
- Church of Blessed Deliverance
- Crafter's Guildhall
- Eel River Transport
- Free Lord's Embassy
- Gulg's Tinctures
- Hoff's Solutions
- Ilsan's Fine Goods
- Ionmandi Wonders
- Kilraven Manor
- Laughing Dawn Tavern
- Miomay's Playhouse
- Mistwall Manor
- Quemp Manor
- Radalar's Regret
- Red Blades Merchant Consortium
- Sinner's Sanctum
- The Curious Owlbear
- The Deluxury
- The Great Project
- The Ogre's Hideout
- The Scarlet Spire
- The Scattergut
- Tipsy Nymph Brewery
- Traitors' Graves
- Watcher's Compound
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Comments