Freeport
The City of Adventure
Freeport’s not a huge, sprawling metropolis. It’s a modest city, huddling, in all its ugliness, at the southern end of the largest island of the Black Isles. That the city grew haphazardly is not lost on those who venture here. In many ways, it looks like it was cobbled together from materials washed up on shore, and yet there are still fine places about if you know where to look. The walls of the Old City loom over everything, and one can’t ignore the beautiful estates of the Merchant District.
That said, Freeport is not pristine, with whitewashed buildings and perfectly symmetrical streets like some places on the continent. The City of Adventure has grown without regard for planning—and that disregard shows.
On the continent, Freeport is seen as a lawless place, filled with murderers, thieves, and worse. The truth is that, while Freeport may be even a bit wilder, rife with corruption and crime, it does have laws, and its rulers generally strive to maintain order. Still, Freeporters value freedom and personal liberty above all other considerations. Those who don’t interfere with their fellows can find a good life in this city.
For many years, it fell to the Sea Lord’s Guard to maintain law and order in Freeport. The quality of these law enforcers varied a great deal, ranging from actual criminals to zealous, brutal policemen who rounded up crooks and disposed of them in the Hulks or the Tombs for fun. Now, this task falls to the Watch, an organization created by the Sea Lord to police this tempestuous city.
The core of Freeport’s legal system is the pirate’s code, which boils down to “do whatever you want on the high seas, but don’t go against your fellows while in port.” This notion defines the psychology of Freeporters who might be blackguards at sea, but who rein in their murderous impulses when rubbing elbows with fellow pirates while swilling ale at the Rusty Hook. Despite this unspoken agreement, some do violate the code, and it’s for these scum that Freeport has laws.
Demographics
45% human, 25% smallfolk, 25% orc, 2.5% elf, 2.5% other.
Freeport’s charms, both virtues and vices, draw people from all over the world. It is the destination of the hopeful and the hopeless alike—a city bursting at its seams. So full are its districts that not even the best accounting by the Captains’ Council can adequately assess Freeport’s population.
The city swallows visitors, their faces adding to the throng that pulses through the streets like blood through the veins of some sleeping titan. Life here is many things. It’s challenging, frustrating, and above all dangerous, but it’s never boring. There are no dull days in Freeport.
Government
To call Freeport’s government corrupt would be to say that Mag'har are honorable, water is wet, and the sun rises in the east. The fact that politicians are on the take merely reflects what has been the status quo since the city’s founding. Corruption is simply a part of the culture.
At the top of Freeport’s government is the Sea Lord. This is a position held for life; once the seat has been attained, the only way a person can lose it is by death or abdication. The post of Sea Lord is unimpeachable; no matter the crime, the Sea Lord can never be removed. For obvious reasons, Freeporters are very concerned about who holds the title, and contention over this position has been the source of many of Freeport’s troubles.
In theory, the Sea Lord’s rule is law, though her edicts are subject to the approval and support of the Captains’ Council. A Sea Lord can make laws and enjoys nearly all the powers held by traditional monarchs, but there are limits. The Sea Lord must acquire the council’s approval in four vital areas: declaring war, entering into treaties with foreign powers, allocating city funds, and levying taxes. These last two come up most often and create the greatest amount of tension both within the council and between the council and the Sea Lord. Since the members of the Captains’ Council have more income than most and thus are usually the ones who end up paying the most in taxes, they feel strongly about incurring new ones and about what’s done with the money raised. This control is one reason why the streets in the Merchant District—where most councilors live—are well cared for while those in Scurvytown are falling to pieces (and also why Bloodsalt is a festering mire of violence and upheaval).
Before death or abdication, the Sea Lord is supposed to name a successor. In years past, only a person of the Drac bloodline could actually become Sea Lord, but with the Law of Succession removed, anyone of the Sea Lord’s choosing can follow. The current Sea Lord is Marilise Magoran.
In a clever demonstration of the wisdom of keeping one’s enemies close, the first Sea Lord, Captain Drac, elevated his fellow captains to advisors to support his claim. This council was conceived to keep Drac’s rivals happy, but it also unexpectedly placed checks on the Sea Lord’s powers. While they are present to advise the Sea Lord on matters of governance, councilors actually have a great deal of influence on city politics. The Sea Lord sits on the council as well and has two votes. Additionally, it is the Sea Lord who breaks all ties. Essentially, the Sea Lord needs only five council votes to push a measure through, while the council needs eight.
The Captains’ Council must consist of twelve members. The Sea Lord and the Captains’ Council can both nominate new members, and the councilors must approve the nomination with a vote. Again, the Sea Lord casts two votes and breaks all ties. Seats on the Captains’ Council are theoretically for life. The only exception to this is the Privateer Seat. This special position was created to ensure there would always be an actual ship’s captain on the Council to give a voice to the privateers of Freeport, who spend much of the year at sea. Only working captains—those who regularly sail their own ships—are permitted to hold this position, which lasts for three years, and after the captain cannot serve in that position again for at least another three. During this term, the captain is required to remain in Freeport to sit on the Council, effectively removing him from his ship. Traditionally, those in the Privateer Seat turn over the day-to-day operations of
their ship to their first mate until they can return to their duties.
Freeport is not a democracy, but the Captains’ Council has traditionally recognized the value of having the people feel like they have a voice of some sort. For this reason, many of the past nominees to the council have been people who held sway over some faction of Freeporters or who were widely popular among the citizenry.
There are only a few ways for a councilor to leave office, other than dying. They can resign if they like, although this is rare. It’s usually done for reasons of poor health, if at all, but most councilors enjoy the power and hang on until the bitter end—unless they can arrange for a trusted protégé to be nominated to take their spot.
The Captains’ Council may impeach and remove councilors, but only for the most heinous of offenses. Bribery, nepotism, and extortion are all considered part of life in Freeport. Impeachable offenses include only outright murder (without provocation) and treason. Any member of the Captains’ Council can call for
impeachment, and a two-thirds majority must approve it. So far, the council has only ever impeached two members, and even then, they kicked only one out.
If a councilor is murdered, a direct family member can claim the position. This action can be done without the approval of the Sea Lord or the Council, but the family must agree on its nominee. In contrast with the other seats, the position of the Sea Lord is unassailable by any legal means. The only way a Sea Lord has ever left his position is on his way to his grave. Many Sea Lords have died in their beds, thankfully after naming a successor. It is when a Sea Lord dies
unexpectedly that trouble brews.
Defences
Freeport has not been in a formal war for years, but as a major port, it must maintain a fleet. Sea Lord Cromey established the Admiralty to oversee all aspects of Freeport’s naval defenses. In the ensuing years, the Admiralty has pursued a three-part strategy to safeguard Freeport. First, it maintains the fleet proper. The official Freeport Navy is small, consisting of just a little over a dozen warships, led by the great man-o’-war, the Fell Thrust. The navy’s main job is to patrol the waters around A’Val and keep the sea lanes safe. This duty is ironic in view of the city’s past, but it’s in Freeport’s best interest to keep trade flowing through the city. Considering the advantages Freeport offers pirates, it isn’t too much to ask that they do their hunting elsewhere. Still, the buccaneers are a hotheaded bunch, and sometimes they just can’t resist a juicy target. Such rogue activity is the fleet’s greatest concern, followed by monster attacks and the like.
Second, the Admiralty maintains Freeport’s unofficial fleet, the privateers. Early Sea Lords realized no law could take the piratical spirit from Freeport’s sailors, so with typical pragmatism, that spirit was turned into a moneymaking scheme. For nearly 200 years, Freeport has hired out its freebooters to other nations as privateers (a fancy name for legalized pirates). The Admiralty sells letters of marque to ship captains, allowing them to fly Freeport’s flag while attacking the ships of designated nations, thus making them legal combatants and protecting them from charges of piracy.
The privateer trade is undeniably the primary “export” of Freeport, and the privateers have their own representative on the Captains’ Council. Currently the seat is held by an orc called Captain Huorn Scarbelly; however, there’s no denying Scarbelly’s skills as a raider and a plunderer—and he has taken out letters of marque for the city occasionally, when it suited his purpose—so he fits the bill in that regard.
When wars get hot, privateers may switch sides repeatedly, as the various combatants offer increasingly huge amounts of gold for their aid. Due to limits of communication, the Admiralty has formalized this bidding process. One week every three months, the Admiralty opens its doors to foreign dignitaries, and each tries to outbid the others and secure the Freeport’s ships for his own government. Active privateers make a point of being in port at this time, so they can get up-to-date information on the next season’s enemies. Once a deal has been struck and money changes hands, new letters of marque are purchased and the privateers put to sea.
Industry & Trade
Freeport’s attractiveness to merchants means the streets are flooded almost year round with foreigners peddling goods acquired from ports all over the world. Furthermore, the city’s distinct lack of raw materials—iron, wood, and stone are costly to come by on the black Isles—means that many goods requiring these materials are actually cheaper to import than to fashion in the city. Therefore, the city lacks much industry common elsewhere; most people work in service, tending shops, or working the docks. Those craftsmen and artisans who produce goods for a living have marginal success in the Seaside Market and along the Street of Dreams, but even then, they must
compete with goods brought from other lands.
Infrastructure
Freeport has a character of its own, one that reflects the nature of the people who live, work, and die here. The port started as a small village, yet it grew far faster than the founders ever expected. Much of the city has been added haphazardly, with new sections built to accommodate the influx of new settlers. As Freeport grew, neighborhoods formed, bound by common interests, wealth, and influence. In time, these clusters developed into the current districts.
Docks
Locals call the Docks the “door to Freeport” because it’s the most convenient place to moor ships. From the pre-dawn light till well after sundown, this is one of the busiest parts of the city. Half of the Docks includes the wharves that stretch out into the harbor to accommodate the deeper-keeled vessels. The wooden walks connect to a boardwalk that runs across the entire district, extending from the Warehouse District to Scurvytown. You can find just about anything you’ll ever need here, since clever merchants like to get the jump on their customers before letting them move deeper into the city. The rest of the district caters to Freeport’s breed of clientele: seamen. Pubs, taverns, flophouses, gambling houses, and bordellos offer countless diversions in which to sink a sailor’s pay. Crime is a constant, as brawls spill into the narrow streets, pickpockets and cutpurses worm through the crowds, and bravos and toughs lurk in the shadowy alleys waiting for the perfect mark to stroll by. Murders might not happen as often as some claim, but a body appears in the harbor often enough that folks think little of it when it happens. And of course more humanoids still pour in every week; a day does not go by when a gang of orcs or goblinoids can’t be found around the Docks, either looking for work or, more likely, looking for Bloodsalt.Scurvytown
Scurvytown squats to the east of the Docks. For years, this was easily the meanest part of town, a large slum run by gangsters and crime lords, where even the well-armed Sea Lord’s Guard ventured only en masse. While Bloodsalt has eclipsed this district in terms of violent crime and lawlessness, Scurvytown is still a place best avoided. The relatively clean and safe (though by no means clean and safe) streets of the Docks give way to a place crammed with old homes, decaying shops, and watering holes no one in their right mind would frequent. The people of Scurvytown are a hardened lot, accustomed to the harsh nature of the streets and criminal rule. They put little stock into Freeport’s elite, and their surliness borders on naked resentment when they encounter one of Freeport’s merchants or socalled “nobles.” Worse, the growing numbers of orcs and goblin-folk, for a short time driven into nearby Bloodsalt, have now started to spill back over into Scurvytown. It is not uncommon to see goblin beggars and orc thugs working the streets here, nor to see roaming gangs of orc or hobgoblin toughs just down the street from the human ones.Eastern District
Those who have the means and ambition to rise above the slums of Scurvytown may find a slightly better life in the Eastern District. The middle-class citizens of the Eastern District don’t have it easy, though, since they are surrounded by five other districts—two of which are Bloodsalt and Scurvytown. The area borders as many districts as the Old City but does not have enormous walls to keep out unwanted elements. Crime here is high, and the Watch maintains only a minimal presence in the Eastern District; everyone knows the crime lord Finn and his flunkies the Hellhounds really rule these streets.Drac’s End
People in Drac’s End try to scrape out an honest living far from the chaos of the waterfront districts, but doing so is not always easy in a city like Freeport. Drac’s End is so named because the original Drac had once envisioned carving much deeper into the surrounding jungle, but it was here his ex-pirate workers were stopped dead in their tracks—sometimes literally—by the creatures inhabiting the jungle. Since Drac’s plans for expansion thus ended here, it acquired this somewhat ironic moniker. Several clans of hobgoblins have relocated to Drac’s End over the past few years, seeking to escape the teeming chaos of Bloodsalt and to make an honest living for themselves here as merchants and laborers. While the locals can’t be said to have welcomed the humanoids, they have at least accepted them, if grudgingly. The hobgoblins’ disciplined nature has served them as well in mercantilism as it does on the battlefield; already, through clever backroom deals and overt coercion, a couple of the hobgoblin clan patrons have made themselves invaluable to the local economy. In fact, one of them has even made known his aspirations to local politics.Temple District
Sailors have always been a superstitious lot, so it’s not surprising Freeport has a thriving religious community. No matter the year or season, the people of Freeport have plenty of reasons to pray. Having survived a killer hurricane, a barbarian invasion, a great fire, and a mad Sea Lord all within the last decade, it has never been clearer to Freeporters that their fates are in the gods’ hands. The city has no official religion, although the God of Pirates has far more worshippers here than in any other single place in the world. Other deities are well represented, too, corresponding with the great diversity of the city’s population.Merchant District
In stark contrast to the poverty of Drac’s End stands the Merchant District, where most of the wealthiest people in Freeport live and sometimes even work. Shops here cater only to the highest class of customer; the main streets are paved with level, well-maintained cobblestones and bordered by handsome lights and well-kept greenery. Wave Avenue, the most select address in town, runs right through the center of the district, like the spine that holds the city’s economy together. It’s said more deals are done on Wave Avenue than in the entirety of the Eastern District.Warehouse District
As the center of trade for the entire region, Freeport needs to have a place for the easy storage of goods of all kinds. Unlike the wharves down in the Docks or Scurvytown, the piers of the Warehouse District are heavily guarded and in good repair. The business done here involves serious money, and docking fees are commensurately higher to cover the cost of the increased security. That this area borders directly on the Merchant District is no coincidence. The powerful and wealthy prefer not to have to walk far to survey their assets.Old City
This is where Freeport first began, under the original Sea Lord Drac. The massive wall that surrounded the city in its earliest days still stands, although Freeport has long since sprawled far outside its confines. While the five gates that control traffic in and out of the Old City are still in working order—ready to be slammed shut and barricaded against riot or invasion—they’ve been used only once in recent memory, during the Barbarian Invasion six years ago. In places, the old brickwork in this district is falling down, but this is still the seat of rule in the city. The Courts are here, as well as the headquarters of both the Guard and the Watch, and the Sea Lord’s Palace.Bloodsalt
Bloodsalt was an accident. Formed in the aftermath of the Great Green Fire and the Wizards’ Guild’s recruitment policy for hiring only nonhumans, this place began as an encampment, but it rapidly grew to become a permanent addition to Freeport. Still, Bloodsalt is more a ghetto for orcs and goblinoids than it is a proper district. There’s some semblance of order here, imposed by the iron-fisted leaders of the humanoid clans, but violence often erupts and rules the day; people of other races are wise to avoid this place, for there’s little justice to be had. More worrying, perhaps, is the fact that Bloodsalt is simply too small to enclose the many humanoids contained there. Given their constantly rising numbers and generally uncivilized behavior, Freeport’s elite are asking, “What is to be done with Bloodsalt after the Reclamation Project has been completed?” This issue is commonly referred to behind closed doors as the “Orc Problem.” As Bloodsalt’s population grows, so does the potential threat to Freeport—at least as far as the citizens of other districts are concerned. Whatever else it might be, Freeport, and Bloodsalt in particular, is a unique melting pot. And the so-called “savage humanoids” have grown accustomed to this level of freedom. While there is an almost palpable racial tension, built largely on misunderstanding and mistrust, only the future can tell how this situation will play out.Guilds and Factions
It’s sometimes easy to forget Freeport is home to more than just prostitutes, thieves, and privateers. In spite of the squalor of Scurvytown, the chaos of Bloodsalt, and the destitution of Drac’s End, Freeport has a considerable wealthy class with at least as much influence on the happenings of the city as any member of the Captains’ Council. Safe behind tall fences encircling their grand villas, protected by veritable armies of private guards, these isolated elites do their best to ignore the plight of fellow Freeporters and embrace the decadence of their wealth and station.
House Brack
Matthias Brack and his daughter Gwendolyn were formerly comfortable and avoided drawing too much attention. That changed when Gwendolyn found herself swept up with the Daughters of the Guild, a group of bored and disaffected young women who dressed as rakes, donned masks, caroused in bars, picked fights, and made trouble as acts of rebellion. Her nocturnal pursuits eventually landed her in a sticky mess, requiring the intervention of a few local heroes to save her from being sacrificed by mad serpent people. With his daughter returned, Brack threw himself into his work to earn enough money to move to a larger, fortified manor so he could be sure his daughter would never be in danger again. He worked for five years, during which time his prominence grew until his holdings rivaled even those of the Tarjay family. He has purchased a new home, hired a small army of guards, and now obsessively monitors his daughter’s every coming and going. Gwendolyn, on the other hand, chafes at her captivity and desperately seeks a husband to extricate her from her father’s protectiveness. She entertains dozens of suitors almost monthly, it seems, but her father has sternly turned away even the most ardent prospects.
House Magoran
House Magoran has had a shady history, yet the family still commands respect and admiration. Marshal Magoran has always had a finger in politics, but he never had the desire to claim a place on the Captains’ Council. Instead, he was content to let his children represent his interests, freeing him to tend his family’s shipyards in distant ports. Unfortunately, this decision led to the deaths of his two sons, leaving his family fortunes to fall upon the shoulders of his daughter. Both sons met their ends on the Captains’ Council. The eldest, Armin, was poisoned, and his younger brother proved to be a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign and justly died with his snake of a master. Still, these deaths haunt the patriarch and make him worry over his daughter—though, secretly, less out of fatherly concern than out of worry for the welfare of his businesses and his legacy. Marilise did surprise her father in her cunning move to attain the position of Sea Lord. Her coup pleased him deeply and dispelled any doubts that she would prove worthy to be his heir. When Marilise offered him command of the Sea Lord’s Guard, he readily agreed, though he had no military experience to speak of.
House Mirren
Thanks to the fertile loins of their matriarch, Mirrens can be found everywhere, from the Docks to the Eastern District and even the Old City. Lenora Mirren, commonly called “Mother Mirren,” heads the family, overseeing the comings and goings of her 30 or so grandchildren, who make up the largest clan in the city. She may not be overly wealthy, but she has contacts and influence, which keep her in good standing with the other elites in her home neighborhood. Some claim the Mirrens are of royal blood, but in truth, they are anything but—for the real Lenora Mirren, whether descended from royalty or not, is long dead. The
woman who wears her coronet today was once just a servant who was lucky enough to be the sole survivor when her mistress’s ship sank some three leagues from Freeport. When rescued, she assumed the name of her drowned employer, and the rest is history. The ruse has gone on for so long now that even Mother Mirren has almost forgotten her real origin.
House Roberts
Unlike many of the families of the Merchant District, the Roberts clan came into wealth through piracy rather than trade. Marcus Roberts enjoyed incredible success in his younger days, giving him ample money to buy a home and start a legitimate trade in Freeport. He was swept into politics, taking him away from his daughter Nifur, his only family after his wife died in childbirth. However, the family fortunes didn’t grow to their current stature until a grown-up Nifur Roberts set aside her youthful exploits and turned her sharp mind toward business. Having little interest in following her father’s path into politics, she took her father’s moderately successful trade business, diversified into arms dealing, and is now a premier importer of swords and armor; she has recently turned her keen eye toward firearms. Her successes have vaulted her to a position of prominence in the Merchant District, where she is almost as much of a celebrity as her accomplished father.
House Roth
The Roth family dominates the Merchant District and holds a controlling stake in the Merchants’ Guild. Despite their ties to the Drac regime, the family continues to exert incredible influence in the city. Torsten Roth IS head of the family.
House Tarjay
David Tarjay and his deceased wife Willemena made their fortune dealing in textiles and dry goods, importing these items at incredibly low prices and turning the goods over at a delicious profit. So successful were they in these ventures that the Tarjays took their place among the wealthiest and most influential families in the city. They owed their success largely to David’s ruthless tactics and willingness to exploit the poor. Through continental factors, he bought up large swaths of land, then rented parcels to landless freemen in exchange for nearly all they produced, allowing them to keep only what they needed to survive. The plan worked exceedingly well, and David managed to bring the crops to Freeport at minimal cost. He made back the money he spent in his land ventures in just a few years and built an empire on the backs of his sweating, starving laborers.
Architecture
Most buildings in the Docks sport some damage from the last bout of summer storms. They are for the most part poorly built, since they must be replaced every year or two due to storms, but a few are made at least partially of stone and meant to withstand the winds and rains. Scurvytown is filled with decaying wooden buildings that haven’t been repaired or maintained in decades. Despite being only a few years old, most buildings in Bloodsalt are shoddily built and in poor repair, cobbled together from scraps of wood and broken stone. In the Eastern District most buildings are in good repair, generally of a mix of wood and brick, with mud plaster. Residential areas are dominated by townhouses. Many families live above the businesses they own and run. In the shadows of the walls of the Old City stand the row houses and tenement buildings that gradually give way to stone administrative buildings of the Old City’s center. Drac's End's buildings are run down and occasionally fire-damaged, and are made from timber or coarse stone, whereas the Merchant District buildings are opulent, well designed and constructed, and are usually kept very clean. The adjacent Warehouse District's buildings are comprised of many storage houses of varying sizes, built either from faded, weather-beaten wood or from relatively new brick, plus some offices and taverns.
Freeporters worship a staggering array of gods. The Temple District contains only about twenty buildings, yet its streets are choked. The buildings range from massive cathedrals, whose size and majesty rival the Sea Lord’s Palace, to humble shrines bearing a single icon of whatever strange god is worshipped there. Little else is here aside from the temples; there simply isn’t much room for the normal sorts of shops and restaurants one finds elsewhere. Vendors, where permitted, sell street food and other light fare, but those wanting a real meal must head to the Merchant District or Old City.
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Adventure
Type
City
Population
15,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Freeporter
Location under
Owner/Ruler
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