Daring Heights
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
A small settlement grew upon the hill where the portal stood. Named Daring Heights as tribute to the nature of its people (or perhaps, as a subtle compliment to entice people to reside there), the town expanded quickly. This was helped by a wealth of resources from the new land and growing rumours across Faerûn of riches beyond the portal. Riches that afforded cobbled streets and stone houses, not to mention the various temples, inns and government buildings that crowd the hill now. As a result, Daring Heights could easily be mistaken for a much older town than it is. But this wealth also brought with it political subterfuge, a thriving criminal underworld and dangerous external threats.
The face of Daring is ever changing as the city expands and ages. Various events have effected its layout, most recently an orc attack that left half the city in ruins, though it has been rebuilt and more since then.
Although a place of relative safety for adventurers in Kantas, Daring Heights has more than its fair share of secrets to discover and battles to wage. The powers that be know that control of Daring means control of Faerûn's access to Kantas (and vice-versa) and the struggle for that control is only just beginning.
Demographics
The makeup of Daring Heights is a little more diverse than most places in Faerûn, as unusual characters tend to be drawn to the opportunities that Kantas provide, not to mention the denizens of the Kantas Expanse who come to visit this new attraction and the various extraplanar entities who have connections here as well.
The population is about 65% Human, 10% Elven, 5% Half-Elven, 2% Dwarven, 2% Halfling, and the remaining 16% is a mixture of all kinds of species from Kobolds to Tieflings to Gnomes to Eladrin to Djinn.
Government
Formerly operated by Mayor Willum Daffles, founder of Daring Heights, in his absence a council has been formed to deal with the day-to-day matters of the town. Made up of 9 senior members of the town, it has only been in operation for a a little over a year, and so many of its details (like how a new member might be chosen) have yet to be formalised.
The intention was to give representation to the main political forces in Daring - the Merchants, the Citizens and the Wardens (their collective name for the guards and the adventurers). However, during the initial forming of the council, while many seats were easily decided upon, notably the adventurers were offered a seat but were unable to decide on a single person who they would trust to represent them. As such, the current membership of the council is as follows:
- Merchant Seat 1 (Port Ffirst) - Lord Kensington of Port Ffirst
- Merchant Seat 2 (Merchants) - Tabetha, representative of the Guild of the Emerald Tradition
- Merchant Seat 3 (Nobility) - Jean Auber, of the noble house of Auber, extensive landowners in Daring Heights
- Citizen Seat 1 (Honorary) - Aurelia Archselon (Wizard, citizen of note and scholar)
- Citizen Seat 2 (Artisans) - Samed the Blacksmith
- Citizen Seat 3 (Faith) - High Priest Rholor of the Temple of Selune
- Warden Seat 1 (City Watch) - Captain Thundercog
- Warden Seat 2 (The Army) - Captain Cordelia Jadefist
- Warden Seat 3 (The Adventurers) - Coll and Cecil, proprietors of the Three Headed Ettin (a shared seat)
Defences
The current defences of Daring Heights are greatly increased from what they were. Having to retake the city from orcish invaders has encouraged an investment in a permanent military presence.
Fort Daring sits in the north of town, home to the armed forces led by Captain Cordelia Jadefist.
Alternative Name(s)
Daring
Type
Large town
Population
3,284
Inhabitant Demonym
Darite
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
Comments