Redfell

All Redfellers' hearts beat in time with the Gearworks.

—Lumley Brightbottle

Redfell is an ancient dwarven and gnomish city built deep in the Æsalon Mountains, where it has stood since its founding late in the Age of Tribes. Since the Dark Years, Redfell has been a free city, surviving the collapse of its former suzerain state during the Asmodeian conquest during the Dark Years, near the end of the Age of Priests.
Famous among Redfell's many notable sons and daughters is the wizard Lykee Gelbelath, whose travels and heroic deeds in the 11th c., A.K., are recounted in the Bard Stefano Stonewell's Diadromiad.

City Districts

The Founders Heart lies just inside Gearworks Gate, a grand, vaulted atrium and the city's first chamber to be carved, held up by granite pillars that still bear ancient dwarven motifs and glyphs. Currently, the district serves as the commercial center of Redfell, hosting market vendors and public houses.
High within the Duroget Peaks are the Steam Columns, home to the great forges and metalworkers of Redfell. The smoke and steam rising from the chimneys above these gnome-built and dwarf-worked furnaces give the city its nickname, "City of the Smoking Mountain".
One of the deepest places in Redfell is the University, home to the wizarding academy famous for its study of geology, engineering, and earth magic.

Demographics

Dwarves, the founders and oldest community of Redfell, make up a majority of the city's residents at roughly 55%. The gnomes in the city's lower reaches make up 32%. From the first century, A.K., a small minority of halflings—8%—have called the city home as well. The remaining 5% are humans, tieflings, and some drow.

Architecture

The city in its entirety is carved deep into the Duroget Triad of the Æsalon Mountains, their slopes dotted with weathered, archaic façades and pillars, the remains of the city's original builders from the Age of Tribes and still in use by its current inhabitants. The deep interior of the city consists of vaulted atria cut directly into the rock as well as natural caverns that have been shaped and enlarged over the millennia to meet its residents' needs.

Geography

The city is set deep in a narrow mountain valley, virtually hidden to any who don't already know its location or who don't stumble across it by accident. Alpine snowmelt fills its cisterns.

Alternative Name(s)

City of the Smoking Mountain

Type

City

Population

23,500

Location under

Æsalon Mountains

Related Reports (Primary)

• Session XI: Crossing the Mountains Report
• Session XII: The Missing Child Report