The Palisades

Along the north-western edge of the city, the land rises several hundred feet above the rest of the basin. What began as a small waystation and trading post grew into the Palisades, the home of dwarven culture in New Straum. Up on "the Bluff" live some of the most wealthy money managers in the world, while the lower middle classes live along the flatlands between the Hill and the Northriver.

Demographics

While the Palisades straddle the line between lower and upper middle class, the poorest and wealthiest members of the community are still predominantly dwarven. While not actively resistant to other races settling in the neighborhood, Dwarven culture with it's odd, unspoken customs and expectations can make other races wary. In spite of this reservation, all but the elves (who still harbor resentment from the dwarven wars) have some representation within the Ward.

Industry & Trade

The Industries and trades most commonly found in the Palisades echo traditionally dwarven occupations: transportation of goods, money lending, and hospitality. The coastal regions of the Ward constitute the principle ship-to-land transportation hub for the entire west coast of the content. The lowland neighborhoods of the Palisades run on the loading and unloading of tanker ships, and overland freight. While Dwarves generally shy away from work as sailors, dwarven engineers are vital to off-shore drilling projects and dwarven teamsters run the Palisades' docks.

In addition to the transportation of goods, the Palisades are known for banking. While the stock markets of the world find a home in the Lower Westside of An'Dué, the silver pages and gold bars brokers use to buy and sell those stocks have all passed through the hands of at least one of the great banking families situated on the Bluff.

The mix of money, hard, manual labor, and family ties older than the bedrock of the Strumland basin have established the third major industry of the Ward: hospitality. While nightclubs and dance halls are more often associated with Faeland or old-town Wybee, the hotels, taverns, and breweries of the Palisades are legendary. They offer some of the best beers, meads, and ales available anywhere on the continent, and provide ample entertainments to seduce your papers. Although gambling is generally illegal in New Straum, the clever lawyers of the Palisades have found a loophole of sorts in the Tribunal's writ. As long as those spending silver paper do so on contests of skill, rather than on games of chance, the practice remains legal. As such, patrons of Palisades' bars are often encouraged to place bets on contests of skill or strength. Or place odds to win on an old fashioned fist fight.

Included Locations