Yanmass, Taldor
Introduction to Yanmass
“They call it the mercantile heart of Taldor, or the last point to step off into the east, or the northernmost bastion of civilization. Hogwash. I was glad to leave the gold-painted buildings and squalling markets of Yanmass behind. It seems like a fine place, decently civilized and so forth, but there’s a nastiness just under the surface. Everybody in Yanmass hates everybody else, but no one has the guts to act on it. The Taldan merchants hate the visiting Qadiran caravan masters, who hate the city’s tax collectors, who hate the extraordinary number of halflings underfoot. But because everyone’s prosperity relies on getting along—visitors with locals, servants with their betters, bureaucrats with everyone—there are more fake smiles than anywhere else in the empire.” —Earl Valiento Hammdel Yanmass is the northernmost sizable settlement in Taldor, situated on a pair of low hills alongside the wide Verduran Fork. The only city of significant size in Avin Prefecture, Yanmass is the center of trade coming west from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh north of the World's Edge Mountains. Constantly filled with merchants arriving from across the Whistling Plains with wares from distant markets and caravans loaded with Taldan goods for shipment east, Yanmass is always bustling and lively. The long-established nobility of Yanmass keeps the peace with its own city guard and the elite cavalry known as the Taldan Horse, both funded from taxes levied on trade. Visitors to Yanmass first notice the sea of tents surrounding the city’s weathered stone walls. In pleasant summer months, this tent town sprawls larger than the city within the walls. At the center of the city rise two low hills. The smaller hill has steeper sides and supports the bureaucratic center of Yanmass, including the manor of elderly Baron Mauston Kustios and the city’s gilded Commerce Hall. The larger hill is covered with ancient trees surrounded by well-tended grounds—this is Hedge Hill, a well-known park. The roofs of a variety of opulent inns, ornate homes, and sturdy warehouses rise above the city walls, reminding visitors that civilization and hospitality are available even in this distant outpost—but for a price.History
Before the arrival of humans to the area, the plains that would eventually see Yanmass built were covered with dense, primeval forests. The first humans in the area found the nearby Verduran Fork and Fog Creek to be deep and navigable, ideal for floating lumber downstream to larger cities on the coast. With halfling assistance—sometimes conscripted—loggers and trappers settled in the area, founding a small town with the halfling name of “Yanmass” near two hills. Soon, however, the forests dwindled. Gradual climate change did the rest of the work, transforming the forest into a sprawling, grassy plain as the Verduran Forest retreated to the west. The plains made excellent ranch lands, so the humans and halflings of the area shifted, over generations, from loggers to ranchers. Yanmass continued to prosper, bringing trade up the Verduran Fork and then to the canal dug from the river to the town. Smaller communities dotted the landscape around the city, and imperial engineers built roads and canals connecting the settlements. Although many of those settlements have since been abandoned—destroyed in the wildfires that occasionally sweep the plains or attacked in inter-empire confrontations—Yanmass remained tall and proud upon its hills, protected by thick walls. When the surrounding lands were incorporated into the Taldan empire as the prefecture of Avin, Yanmass was the best locale for the prefecture’s administrative heart. When Keleshite traders realized the scope of the markets to the west, they sought the best passages over and around the World’s Edge Mountains. The vast Whistling Plains to the east of Yanmass are mostly level, but they are rarely safe; the plain is home to bulettes, worgs, and stranger monsters lurking in the tall grass. Still, brave scouts established the safest paths through the grassland, enabling trade across the Whistling Plains to Yanmass. Today, bandits pose as much a problem to travelers as beasts. Maps of the Whistling Plains showing secret paths, sheltered watering holes, and abandoned but safe shelters circulate in Yanmass. Although most of these are either minor variations on known routes or outright fabrications, they feed the hopes of finding a genuine map that leads across the plains safely and swiftly. Although hostilities between Taldor and the satrapies of the Padishah Empire of Kelesh flare up from time to time, Yanmass has never closed its gates to merchants; trade to and from the east is too vital to the city’s survival to ever have its markets close. The various barons and baronesses who have ruled Avin Prefecture over the past several generations have held differing opinions on open trade, but no leader has dared to oppose the merchant lords in the city. Over time, these merchant lords have assumed a stronger role in civil administration, writing the very laws applicable to themselves and to their competitors. Operating out of the ornate Commerce Hall, Yanmass’s Mercantile Council has risen from a group of like-minded wealthy traders to the city’s most influential arm of government.Yanmass At a Glance
The people of Yanmass are proud and hardworking. Although opinions about the distant Taldan government in Oppara vary among Yanmass’s residents, most citizens display a strong civic pride in their wealthy city on the distant frontier. The town’s long history also contributes to this sense of community pride. Many Yanmass residents occupy homes built by distant ancestors and work in business carefully tended and expanded over generations. Although Taldane is the official language of the city and by far the most commonly used, many residents also speak a smattering of Kelish—particularly those who deal with traders from across the plains to the east, such as innkeepers, merchants, and stable hands. Yanmass’s inhabitants are inveterate deal makers, and the Kelishite custom of haggling has influenced nearly all walks of life in Yanmass. Haggling over prices for meals or lodging is common, even between native Taldans, and large crowds gather when talented negotiators compete. This tendency to haggle doesn’t extend to the city’s bureaucracy, however, which rigorously enforces taxes to support the city’s government and defense. In Yanmass, the phrase “bargain like a tax collector” means to refuse to negotiate or to otherwise be inflexible on a topic. Buildings in Yanmass are predominantly stone, obtained from quarries in the World’s Edge Mountains to the south. Upper stories and roofs are made of wood. Because forests have retreated over past generations and the city prohibits cutting in Hedge Hill at the city’s center, wood has become increasingly expensive. As a result, residents and businesses are much more likely to renovate existing buildings rather than fund new construction. Outside the city walls, tents and thatch dwellings predominate. Usually these are temporary residences used by traders, although many are well constructed and festooned with so many pillows and tapestries that they are more luxurious than the most solid buildings within Yanmass’s walls. Two different forces keep the peace in and around Yanmass. The Firewatch is personally funded by the baron of Avin and reports to his household. Although originally established to combat fires in the city and on the nearby plains, the Firewatch also serves as the police force in the city. Members of the Firewatch are distinctive in their red uniforms. The Taldan Horse is the elite cavalry arm of the Taldan military. Headquartered outside of Yanmass in various fast-response stations, the Taldan Horse primarily patrols the roads and plains around the city. Although the Taldan Horse has just as much jurisdiction within the city as outside it, members generally enter the city on official business only when requested by the baron or the Firewatch.Maps
-
Yanmass, Taldor
Yanmass is the northernmost sizable settlement in Taldor, situated on a pair of low hills alongside the wide Verduran Fork. The only city of significant size in Avin Prefecture, Yanmass is the center of trade coming west from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh north of the World's Edge Mountains. Constantly filled with merchants arriving from across the Whistling Plains with wares from distant markets and caravans loaded with Taldan goods for shipment east, Yanmass is always bustling and lively. The long-established nobility of Yanmass keeps the peace with its own city guard and the elite cavalry known as the Taldan Horse, both funded from taxes levied on trade.
Stat Block
LN small cityCorruption -2; Crime -1; Economy +4; Law +4; Lore +3; Society -2
Qualities prosperous, rumormongering citizens, strategic location, trade over politics
Danger +5
DEMOGRAPHICS
Government Overlord (hereditary baron)Population 6,995 (6,050 humans, 790 halflings, 85 half-elves, 70 other)
MARKETPLACE
Base Value 5,720 gp; Purchase Limit 37,500 gp; Spellcasting 6th levelMinor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6
SPECIAL QUALITIES
Trade Over Politics Yanmass's government and citizens usually remain politically neutral to avoid disrupting the city's vibrant economy. (Corruption -1, Economy +1)MISCELLANEOUS
Included Locations
