Bilgewater (Bill-j wah-ter)
The Serpent's Isles
Summary
Nestled away in the Blue Flame Isles archipelago, Bilgewater is a port city like no other—home to serpent hunters, dock gangs, and smugglers from across the known world. Here, fortunes are made and ambitions shattered in the blink of an eye. For those fleeing justice, debt, or persecution, Bilgewater can be a place of new beginnings, for no one on these twisted streets cares about your past. Even so, with each new dawn, careless travelers can always be found floating in the harbor, their purses empty and their throats slit…
While incredibly dangerous, Bilgewater is ripe with opportunity, free from the shackles of formal government and trade regulation. If you have the coin, almost anything can be purchased here, from outlawed hextech to the favor of local crime lords.
With the recent removal of the last “reaver king” of Bilgewater, the city has entered a period of transition, while the most prominent captains try to agree on its future. But as long as there are seaworthy ships and crews to sail them, Bilgewater is likely to remain one of the most colorful and well-connected places in Runeterra.
History
Events
During the westward migration over 6,000 years ago, the Buhru people settled the Serpent's Isles, a chain of islands surrounded by treacherous waters and teeming with dangerous sea creatures. The Buhru were deeply spiritual, worshipping Nagakabouros, the Mother Serpent, whom they saw as the embodiment of motion, change, and the cycle of life. The Buhru lived in harmony with the sea, building their villages atop cliffs and using their profound knowledge of the ocean's dangers and bounty to thrive in an otherwise unforgiving environment.
In recent centuries, the Serpent’s Isles began to attract immigrants from all over Runeterra. Refugees braved the dangers of the surrounding waters in search of a new life—or to escape old ones. Drawn by the region’s isolation, they established the bustling port settlement of Bilgewater.
As the settlement grew, Bilgewater became a haven for smugglers, criminals, and pirates. The city's lawlessness attracted people from every corner of the world, fostering a melting pot of cultures and languages. The influx of outsiders often clashed with the native Buhru, who viewed the chaotic settlement and its disregard for their sacred traditions with suspicion and unease. While some Buhru adapted, working as sailors, guides, or spiritual advisors, others kept to their villages, avoiding the port altogether.
This chaos made Bilgewater fertile ground for a powerful leader to emerge. That leader was Gangplank, a brutal and cunning pirate who united—or crushed—his rivals to become the undisputed crime lord of Bilgewater. Ruling with an iron fist, Gangplank styled himself as a king, demanding tribute from all who sought to operate in the city. Under his reign, Bilgewater thrived as a pirate haven, though it became increasingly oppressive and dangerous for its inhabitants.
Gangplank’s reign came to a dramatic end at the hands of Sarah Fortune, who had sought revenge for when Gangplank had killed her family years earlier, and Sarah’s rise to power was fueled by her desire for justice and vengeance. In a daring coup, Sarah orchestrated the destruction of Gangplank’s flagship, the Dead Pool. The explosion left Gangplank dead, his criminal empire dismantled and fractured. The power vacuum plunged Bilgewater into further chaos, as rival factions scrambled to fill the void.
In the aftermath, Sarah Fortune became the symbolic leader of Bilgewater. While she held no official title or government position, many saw her as the city’s most powerful figure. Sarah sought to bring a semblance of order to Bilgewater, advocating for a more stable and prosperous future. However, her leadership was not universally accepted.
Culture Heritage
At the heart of Bilgewater's cultural identity are the Buhru people, the original settlers of the Serpent's Isles. With the arrival of immigrants and the rise of Bilgewater as a pirate haven, the culture of Bilgewater evolved into one of opportunism, cunning, and resourcefulness. The lawlessness of piracy brought with it a fierce individualism and a celebration of freedom, however chaotic. Bilgewater's streets teem with sea shanties, taverns filled with bold tales, and a thriving black market economy.
Immigrants from across Runeterra brought their own customs, languages, and beliefs, making Bilgewater a melting pot of cultures. This blend is evident in its cuisine, with dishes inspired by distant regions and abundant seafood.
Geography
Landscape and Climate
Bilgewater is built along the jagged cliffs of the Serpent's Isles, with its structures precariously perched above deep, turbulent waters. The port city sprawls across multiple tiers of wooden docks, ramshackle buildings, and narrow pathways. Small, secluded Buhru settlements dot the isles, often located near sacred sites tied to the worship of Nagakabouros.
The inland areas of the Serpent's Isles are covered in dense, humid jungles teeming with exotic flora and dangerous fauna, many of which are unique to the region.
The coastlines are riddled with hidden coves and sea caves, perfect for smugglers and pirates to stash their treasures or hide from prying eyes. The surrounding seas are infamous for their sharp-toothed predators and colossal sea monsters, making navigation a test of skill and courage.
The Serpent's Isles are tropical, with warm temperatures and high humidity year-round. The air is often thick with moisture, and the scent of saltwater and seaweed permeates the city.
The region experiences sudden and violent storms, with towering waves and fierce winds that test even the most seasoned sailors. Thunderclouds frequently roll across the skies, casting the city in a foreboding light.Heavy rain is common, feeding the lush jungle growth inland. The mornings are often shrouded in dense sea fog, making the docks and narrow pathways eerie and treacherous.
Natural Resources
The waters around the Serpent's Isles teem with fish, crabs, mollusks, and other seafood. Rare and valuable marine life, such as razorfins, krakens, and other deep-sea monsters, are hunted for their meat, oil, bones, and other unique materials. The coral reefs around the Isles produce beautiful, high-quality pearls and vibrant corals.
The jungles of the Isles provide timber, bamboo, and other plant materials essential for building and ship construction. The humid jungles are home to a wide variety of medicinal plants, herbs, and fungi. The rocky cliffs and caves of the Isles contain small deposits of gold, silver, and other precious metals, often mined or scavenged by the bold.
Bilgewater's role as a hub for smuggling means its "resources" often include contraband such as weapons, artifacts, and rare commodities from across Runeterra.
Demographics
Population
Bilgewater’s demographics are a chaotic mix of natives, immigrants, and transients due to its status as a pirate haven and trade hub on the Serpent’s Isles. The Buhru people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Isles, form a significant but minority group in modern Bilgewater.
Bilgewater has also become home to a diverse array of immigrants from across Runeterra, including Noxians, Piltoverians, Zaunites, Ionians, and others. These individuals come for various reasons, seeking opportunity, refuge, or anonymity. While some contribute to the city’s economy as traders and craftspeople, many others find their place as smugglers, bounty hunters, or pirates. This influx of cultures has transformed Bilgewater into a melting pot, blending traditions, languages, and cuisines into a unique, vibrant society. Many are drawn by the promise of fortune or escape, but their presence is often fleeting, with numbers swelling during busy trading seasons or times of conflict.
Religion
The dominant religious influence comes from the Buhru, who worship Nagakabouros, the Mother Serpent. The priesthood of Nagakabouros wields significant influence among the Buhru, guiding their spiritual practices and protecting their cultural heritage.
In contrast, the rest of Bilgewater is a melting pot of disparate beliefs and superstitions. Immigrants bring their own gods, spirits, and rituals from across Runeterra, creating a chaotic tapestry of religious practices. However, many in Bilgewater adopt a more pragmatic and superstitious outlook, shaped by the city’s dangerous lifestyle. Sailors and pirates frequently offer prayers or sacrifices to Nagakabouros or other deities such as the Bearded Lady, seeking safe passage and fortune at sea, even if they do not fully embrace the Buhru faith.
Culture
Traditions and Festivals
The Buhru people hold deeply spiritual ceremonies centered on Nagakabouros, the Mother Serpent. These rituals often involve offerings of food, valuables, or symbolic items cast into the sea to honor the deity. The Buhru also observe smaller ceremonies tied to fishing seasons, storms, and the migration of sea creatures, blending their daily lives with their faith.
Immigrants and pirates have introduced their own traditions, often less spiritual but equally lively. Other festivities, like the sea shanties, fill the city’s taverns, with sailors and pirates competing to sing the most outrageous and humorous songs.
Food and Cuisine
As a port city surrounded by bountiful waters, Bilgewater’s cuisine is dominated by seafood. Fresh catches like fish, crab, squid, and shellfish form the base of most meals. Dishes such as spiced crab stew, grilled razorfin skewers, and seaweed-wrapped fish rolls are popular staples. Exotic and dangerous sea creatures, such as monstrous leviathan steaks or kraken tentacles, are considered rare delicacies for those brave enough to hunt them.
Arts and Music
The Buhru contribute a rich artistic heritage centered on their faith in Nagakabouros. Their art is deeply symbolic, featuring intricate carvings of sea creatures, spirals, and waves, often found on totems, amulets, and sacred relics. Bright, natural colors from local plants and minerals are used in murals and textiles.
Ship figureheads, tattoo designs, and scrimshaw carvings (etched into whale bones or tusks) are common forms of artistic expression. Urban areas feature rough but vibrant graffiti, often depicting legendary sea monsters, famous ships, or tales of pirate glory. Art pieces frequently incorporate nautical elements like ropes, nets, and salvaged wood.
Music in Bilgewater is dominated by sea shanties, rhythmic work songs sung by sailors to coordinate tasks or lift spirits during long voyages. The Buhru have their own sacred musical traditions, featuring rhythmic drumming, chanting, and conch shells to accompany rituals and ceremonies.
Government & Politics
Political System
Bilgewater lacks a formal political system, operating instead under a volatile mix of pirate rule, criminal syndicates, and individual power struggles. The city's governance is defined by pragmatism and force, with leadership determined by strength, cunning, and influence rather than laws or institutions.
The Buhru people, though largely separate from Bilgewater’s leadership, wield significant influence through their spiritual authority and knowledge of the Serpent’s Isles. The Buhru priesthood of Nagakabouros often acts as mediators in disputes and guardians of the Isles’ sacred sites, creating occasional friction with Bilgewater’s settlers.
Leadership
For years, Gangplank ruled Bilgewater as its self-proclaimed king, uniting rival pirate factions through fear and brutality. Under his iron-fisted rule, Bilgewater thrived as a haven for piracy, smuggling, and illicit trade, though it was also marked by violence and oppression. Gangplank’s reign ended when Sarah Fortune orchestrated his downfall, destroying his flagship and leaving him presumed dead. This shattered his criminal empire, plunging Bilgewater into chaos as rival factions vied for control.
After Gangplank’s fall, Sarah Fortune became the symbolic leader of Bilgewater. Though not an official ruler, she commands respect as a shrewd and capable strategist, working to stabilize the city and curb its lawlessness. Sarah seeks to impose a semblance of order while allowing Bilgewater to remain a haven for free enterprise and piracy. However, her leadership is contested by rival factions and traditionalists loyal to Gangplank’s legacy.
Foreign Relations
Bilgewater's foreign relations are as complex and volatile as the city itself, shaped by its role as a pirate haven, trade hub, and independent city-state. It lacks formal alliances or diplomatic ties, as its chaotic nature and criminal reputation often put it at odds with established nations and powers.
Noxus tolerates Bilgewater as a source of trade and mercenaries but disdains its frequent raids againsttheir trade ships. Noxian leaders occasionally attempt to exert influence over the city, viewing it as a potential strategic outpost for their imperial ambitions, but the maritime traditions of the many peoples make it difficult for any naval campaign.
These twin cities engage with Bilgewater primarily for trade. Piltover merchants use Bilgewater as a stopover for goods, while Zaunite smugglers find it an ideal port for illicit dealings.
Ionians generally avoid Bilgewater, seeing its culture as diametrically opposed to their spiritual harmony. However, Ionian temples have been frequent targets of Bilgewater treasure hunters, even openly skirmishing with the Order of Shadow.
Economy
Industry
Bilgewater’s industry is built on its maritime economy, fueled by fishing, piracy, smuggling, and trade.While Bilgewater lacks the structured economy of larger nations, it compensates with a bustling marketplace.The waters surrounding the Serpent's Isles teem with fish, shellfish, and massive sea creatures. Fishing and whaling are cornerstone industries, providing food, oil, and materials like blubber and bones.
Bilgewater’s infamous piracy serves as both a livelihood and a shadow industry. Smugglers thrive in the city's chaotic docks, trafficking goods such as weapons, contraband, and rare artifacts. The demand for seaworthy vessels sustains a robust shipbuilding industry. Local shipwrights craft sturdy, often heavily armed ships for pirates, traders, and mercenaries.
Exports and Imports
Bilgewater’s exports are rooted in the bounty of its treacherous waters and its opportunistic spirit. The city is a key supplier of seafood, particularly salted fish and smoked delicacies, as well as whale oil, a valuable fuel source. Exotic goods like kraken ink, sea monster bones, and precious coral are highly sought after across Runeterra, making them lucrative exports. Additionally, Bilgewater’s skilled shipwrights produce custom-built vessels and weaponry for mercenaries, traders, and rogue factions.
Due to its lack of arable land, the city imports essential staples such as grain, fruits, and vegetables from other regions to supplement its seafood-heavy diet. Textiles, clothing, and ropes are also brought in from places like Piltover, Noxus, and Ionia, along with iron, steel, and precision tools necessary for its shipbuilding and weapon crafting industries. Luxury items, including fine wines, spices, and silks, are frequently smuggled into the city to satisfy the desires of its wealthier inhabitants and pirates seeking indulgence.
Currency
The official currency of the desert are Shuriman Securis, a single securi is made of only of gold. It is inscribed with the image of the Sun Disc and considered a worthless currency in the North, however in Bilgewater and smugglers worldwide, what’s better than gold that can be melted down or used for illicit deals. Becoming the informal currency of the Union of the Blue Flame Krakens, it’s capital Bilgewater often sends merchants to buy gold from Ionia at a low price and sell it to others at a more reasonable price than Ionia will (coughNoxuscough). In recent years, a small fraction of that gold is taxed by Bilgewater to be made into Krakens, seeing how versatile a currency it is. The currency used to trade with Demacian, Noxians, Zaunites, and Pilties are Silver Serpents, which can be exchanged for Valors quite easily.
Tourism
Landmarks
This sacred Buhru site, dedicated to the Mother Serpent, is a must-see for those intrigued by spirituality and local culture. The intricately carved totems and ceremonial areas offer a glimpse into the rich traditions of the Buhru people.
Thr Slaughter Docks is one of Bilgewater’s most iconic sites, these sprawling wooden docks serve as the heart of the city’s maritime industry. A bustling marketplace located near the docks, the Leviathan Market is famous for its wide array of goods, from rare sea creature parts and contraband to exotic artifacts and unique trinkets.
The remains of Gangplank’s old flagship the Dead Pool, destroyed during Sarah Fortune’s rise to power, are displayed as both a warning and a piece of pirate lore.
Activities
Adventurous visitors can join local crews on expeditions to hunt dangerous sea creatures like razorfins and krakens. Additionally, bounty hunting is a common way of making money within the haven. Usually these are locally sourced so the legality of these hunts are always in question but they pay well.
Tavern life is alive and well with theater performances, particularly with showgirls or shanty-like bands. Drug dens and gambling halls are dotted across the settlement, usually the most illicit games require some wealth or connection.
Living With the Sea
Bilgewater is a place where different cultures merge and meld. The old creeds and faiths of Valoran are often reinterpreted in relation to local customs, since a life on the ocean waves bears little resemblance to the daily hardships of a Demacian ranger, or a Shuriman shepherd.
This aging priest, decked out in his crude sea monster regalia, wanders the quaysides to offer charms and blessings to departing ships' crews, in exchange for a few coins - or a hot meal.
A Watery Grave
In Bilgewater, the dead are not buried - they are given back to the ocean. The port's graveyards consist of innumerable floating buoys, below which are sunk the mortal remains of the recently departed. The wealthy might be interred within expensive caskets with lavish, bobbing tombstones... while the poor are often tied en masse to old anchors underneath waterlogged barrels.
The Boatman
A fixture of every floating graveyard, these grim sailors ferry the dead out to their final resting place.
Monsters of the Deep
It is unknown whether the sea monsters around Bilgewater inspired the beliefs in the Mother Serpent, or vice versa, nonetheless leviathans have become a staple in Bilgewater’s varied cultures.
Sea Beasts
Serpent Callers
Whatever purpose these immense horns once served, they are now used by the people of Bilgewater to drive away sea monsters that wander too close to the shipping lanes. Bilgewater’s shores are protected by the horns that when blown disorient the waves through the waters to disguise Bilgewater’s location from the sea monsters.
Captains and Crews
Bilgewater is home to serpent-hunters, dock gangs, and smugglers from across the known world. For those fleeing justice, debt, or persecution, Bilgewater can be a place of new beginnings, for no one on these twisted streets cares about your past.
The Bearded Lady
Central to Buhru culture is Nagakabouros—god of life, growth, and perpetual motion. Also known as the Mother Serpent, the Great Kraken, or the Bearded Lady, she is commonly depicted as an enormous, monstrous head with many spiraling tentacles.
Many more strange beings haunt the depths around Bilgewater. Some are from this world, and this time. Others are not.
A Parley With Death
Mortals have precious little understanding of the primal magical forces at work beneath the waves, or perhaps they simply choose not to care. Either way, there is no guarantee that things that "perish" near Bilgewater will stay dead for very long.
The Tithe
Insisting it is more than mere superstition. Bilgewater locals urge all seafarers to pay the Mother Serpent her due. Whenever they leave port, a ship's captain should throw an offering overboard - or face the ocean's wrath.
The Slaughter Docks
Sea monster attacks are a constant threat around Bilgewater, but over the years myriad lucrative industries have grown out of hunting and harvesting the massive creatures. Vessels haul them back to port, to be rendered down into meat, oils, hides, armored scales—even bones and teeth—for sale at the thriving dockside markets.
Carving Bays
From MacGregan’s Killhouse to the renowned outfits at Bloodharbor, slaughter docks operate day and night to turn death into profit. Only the most successful captains can ever hope to run their own dock, so most are forced to haggle for the best deal before their prize begins to rot in the water.
Slaughter Sheds
Harpooners
One of the most important roles on a hunting crew is the harpooner, who hooks and slays the beasts, and entire crews will be built around a veteran who can teach others a thing or two along the way. Many harpooners are marksmen, or particularly fearless freedivers... but few survive long enough for their reputation to become widely known.
Harpoon Mistress
Tools of the Trade
The most skilled monster hunters know the old ways are often the best. Following the traditions of the Serpent Isles, these cunning traps and vicious hooks are crafted for luring and slaying specific creatures, and such generation to generation.
The Serpent Isles
While much of Valoran knows the archipelago as the Blue Flame Isles, to the indigenous people of Buhru they have only ever been the Serpent Isles. Buhru’s ancient culture is highly respected, reflected, and sometimes imitated in the daily life of Bilgewater—including traditional medicine, and monster hunting techniques. The native people's knowledge of the ocean and its denizens is second to none, and a few ships are able to navigate the perilous straits around Bilgewater without their guidance.
Buhru Temple
A Motley Crew
Bilgewater has no unified central government, making it a place where various gang leaders, syndicates, and power brokers vie for control. However, it is not a totally lawless place - it's just a matter of what you can get away with, and retribution is generally swift and fatal. In Bilgewater, wealth is the true power.
Gangplank
As unpredictable as he is brutal, the dethroned reaver king Gangplank is feared far and wide. Once, he ruled the port city of Bilgewater, and though his reign is over, there are those who believe this has only made him more dangerous. Gangplank would see Bilgewater bathed in blood before letting someone else take it - and now with pistol, cutlass, and barrels of gunpowder, he is determined to reclaim all he has lost.
Miss Fortune
A Bilgewater captain famed for her looks but feared for her ruthlessness, Sarah Fortune paints a stark figure among the hardened criminals of the port city. As a child, she witnessed the reaver king Gangplank murder her family - an act she brutally avenged years later, blowing up his flagship while he was still aboard. Those who underestimate her will face a beguiling and unpredictable opponent - and, likely, a bullet or two in their guts.
The Bounty Board
The closest you can get to laws and government in Bilgewater is the bounty board. Written on it are the names of the most wanted criminals of Bilgewater, ranked by how much would be paid for their heads. It is said that the reaver king Gangplank regularly added a silver serpent to his own bounty, as an open challenge to the entire city.
A Fistful O' Krakens
As a trade city, Bilgewater is one of the most amenable to the use of foreign currency, though it also mints its own coins in denominations of golden Krakens, silver Serpents, and bronze Sprats/ When a new reaver king or queen rises, they legitimize their hold over the city by putting their mark on each coin - Gangplank was the most recent to do so.
Weapons
Cannons
Miss Fortune's Blunderbuss
Bilgewater Bay
Surrounded by treacherous straits and towering cliffs, Bilgewater Bay is as dangerous as those who call it home. Visitors are often seduced by seemingly limitless opportunity, and become permanent residents—realizing that the longer they stay, the more they can exploit others for power and wealth.
Butcher's Bridge
Looming over the main harbor is Butcher’s Bridge, an ancient stone overpass built into the cliffs, connecting the bustling piers with the notorious slums beyond. Some still use it to access the Temple of Nagakabouros, but most now gather here to fight duels or exchange their illicit wares.
Ancient Architecture
Various settlements within the greater city have been built upon the remains of a far older civilization. Long abandoned temples have been converted into homes and places of business, with scaffold walkways leading from one establishment to another.
High and Dry
There is a commonly accepted truth in Bilgewater: the higher you climb, the less likely you are to drown. As the city lacks many natural resources for construction, much of it has been built up with whatever people can bring, find, or steal - be it repurposed masonry, or even the broken hulls of the ships they traveled in.
Those with money in their pocket will frequent the uptown taverns, enjoying fine drinks and merry conversation—even though, in a day or two, they will be back down at the wharf, wrangling a crew for their next dismal voyage.
Black Market Grottos
Bilgewater’s lowliest inhabitants dwell in a labyrinth of meandering canals and hidden inlets, with no separation between the homes they build and the sea where they ply their trade. Indeed, traversing perilous waters is not just an occupational hazard, but part of daily life.
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