Geography
Lit by the deep orange glow of slowly bubbling liquid lava, the everpresent sulfur of the volcano, the sheer pressure of the rising heat. Compared to settlements of the Material Plane, The Burning Eye Hold seems determined to make dwelling here as harsh and unforgiving as possible.
Around the edge of the Caldera and rising from a jutting rock in the center of the lava, the buildings of the Burning Eye Hold are made from jagged and dark rocks, adorned with dwarven architecture. The volcano’s presence is visible through the open, grated walkways built outwards from the igneous rock.
The city’s constant upwards breeze carries the rank odor of brimstone, sourced from the volcano. Merely stepping foot in the Burning Eye Hold subjects creatures, especially ones from the Material Plane, to overwhelming heat.
Description
the Burning Eye Hold’s tiered layers are filled with classic dwarven masonry, majestic landscapes, and endless trade. Towering magma falls cascade down the top of the city, turning colossal magma wheels that power the city’s mighty forges and industry. The city is settled by a dwarven majority, their influence can be felt everywhere through their dedication to beautiful, functional, and lasting design. Most traditions in the city are based on dwarven culture, placing great importance on honesty and hard work, and use the Dwarvish language for legal documents and fiscal contracts. Within the Blessed Volcano lie great catacombs, forges, and geothermal vents from the volcanic pools.
- Stone architecture within the city is primarily dwarven. The great forges within the mountain itself are powered by tremendous, large magmawheels, which are feats of engineering all on their own. Most buildings have basements, which are usually built as comfortable living areas for the city’s historical dwarven population. The designs are usually simple with harsh angles, but their quality is unmistakable as they stand resolute after centuries of use. More recent additions vary far more.
- The citizen rely heavily on the insulation of the primarily black stone buildings to evade the blistering heat.
- As a general rule, the city is full of the trademark bustle and chatter of a thriving city. The Market in particular is home to marketplace barkers, craftsmen of all kinds with ringing tools, and throngs of buyers. To most, it is a welcome din, and serves as evidence of the success that the Burning Eye Hold has accomplished over the centuries.
Traveling through the Burning Eye Hold requires the use of either the large, publicly available staircases, or permission to utilize one of the numerous service lifts scattered within the city. These lifts are primarily used to transport bulky trade goods and other imported supplies up and down the mountain, and are operated by small teams of strong laborers: some of whom may be more than willing to accept a bribe for their services.
The individual districts were named after the original founding dwarven families, although they’ve become colloquially referred to by a different set of names based on their primary role in the city’s infrastructure.
The Bravepike (Caldera) District
This district, which links the city to the Caldera, is more akin to a collection of bridges, paths, and cliffs in between the caldera's jagged edge and the city, and above the large magma pool under the city.
The Oubliette
The Oubliette is renowned across the planes as one of the most secure facilities in the
Inner Planes. Under Warden Tezmozel, a cruel and punitive ice
Devil with a ring of fire protection, the prison has never had a successful escape. Entry to the prison requires swimming deep within the city’s magma, or use of the single teleportation circle in the city above—all other
Magic within the Oubliette’s black iron fortifications is nullified.
Rustforge Lumber
Rustforge Lumber Yard is the largest and most highly praised lumber yard in the Burning Eye Hold, with a constant supply of
Cinder bark, a prized wood of the plane of fire, located on the southern side of the caldera district. Although named for its founding clan, today the company is a complete melting pot of dedicated carpenters and lumberjacks under the direction of Chief Logger Anthruil, an aging but exceptionally fit and fierce azer male.
Weary Breavepike
The Weary Bravepike is an old but sturdy stone tavern on the eastern side of the caldera district and a frequent stop for caravans and other foot traffic. Constructed when a rebellious Bravepike
Dwarf left the clan to pursue their fortune, the craftsmanship and care put into the structure is quite clear. That dwarf’s progeny, all the way to Froshka Bravepike, the current owner, have been here ever since.
The Bronzehawk (Market) District
Full of bustling marketplaces, businesses, and homes, the Bronzehawk district is the beating heart of the Burning Eye Hold. Trade flourishes here thanks to higher population density, frequent import caravans, and commerce-oriented legislation. You can find numerous inns and taverns, bustling abattoirs, smithies, and famed artisanal storefronts. Many of the buildings here are sturdy, constructed using trademark dwarven architecture and technique during the first century of settlement here in the Burning Eye Hold. The finest were designed and built by the legendary Bronzehawk masonic craftsmanship.
Beating Heart Hospital
Beating Heart Hospital on the Market district is the Burning Eye Hold’s largest public hospital, with capacity for up to 100 patients at once. It operate solely based on the charitable donations of the community, providing its services regardless of an individual’s social or economic standing. The Heart Medics provide this selfless service under the leadership of Head Medic Noella Gustarson, a female azer greatly beloved by her patients and staff. Noella’s legs were lost in a rescue expedition, and as a result, the entire hospital is highly accessible to allow her and her fellow patients to be self-sufficient in their wheelchairs.
Goods Galore
Goods Galore is a well-worn, somewhat bedraggled establishment on the Market district. For two centuries, the Whelfstein family line was given ownership of the shop by the government, providing warm service and sturdy supplies for the city’s denizens and adventurers both. The shop is currently run by Johanberg, an earnest young azer male dedicated to giving the shop everything he has.
Silver Eagle Forge Coalition
The Silver Eagle Forge Coalition is a collective of the finest dwarven blacksmiths, known far and wide as the crafters of the Steel Hawks’ renowned silver eagle weaponry. The coalition currently operates under the leadership of the married couple Barthomen and Rubianna Crowfoot, an azer male and azer female. Although most known for their weaponcraft, they also produce exquisite metalwork of all types and kinds with steep but fair prices from their forge built behind the Bronzehawk district’s northernmost magmafall.
The Slatefist (Residential) District
The district serves as the home of the city's populace. The district also features restaurants; couture, public schools, and libraries.
Lavish stone homes are carved directly into the volcano's surface. Further, this district offers entrance to the Old City: the original, inner-mountain colony from before its exodus. Ancient families will refer to this district as The First District, as it was the first area to have been leveled and settled when the founding dwarves first left the original colony.
Altitude Gardens
Altitude Gardens is a popular apothecary on the Residential District, often frequented by the denizens for fragrances and medicines alike, although they also serve adventurers with sufficient coin. Verwick Enthar is the proud proprietor, an androgynous half-elf who was given the business from the hold several decades ago. Since that
Time, they’ve taken good care of the property and maintained its traditional reputation of service with a smile.
Devilish Delights
Devilish Delights is a lavish inn and restaurant on the residential district, used almost exclusively for traveling dignitaries or emissaries and the most wealthy traveling adventurers. The owner is Comfort, a flirtatious
Tiefling with debonair charm to spare. Its candelabras and rich mahogany furniture cultivate a romantic ambiance that has led to a number of stories and novels about relationship escapades behind its doors.
Rainbow Readers
Rainbow Readers is a large public library on the residential district, most known for its robust children’s education programs that have helped to increase literacy in the Burning Eye Hold. Most of the records within are educational primers and copies of classic literature, making it a treasured historical and community center. Librarian Riftren Swibble, a wise and wizened female azer, directs her fellow teachers in educating the masses. City immigrants unfamiliar with the Dwarven language come here for mandatory lessons when they apply for citizenship.
Slatefist Smithies
The Slatefist Smithies are a collaboration of almost exclusively dwarven smiths whose lineage traces directly back to the founders. With their ancient volcano- and magma wheel-powered forge located within the volcano itself, they craft their fine metalwork in traditional dwarven form and fashion. Were it not for their rivals in the Coalition, the Slatefist Smithies would have a monopoly on metallurgical work. The forge’s activities are currently directed by the female dwarf Demetrianne Slatefist, the matriarch of all Slatefist clan members.
The Truebrand (Temple) District
Upon the sterling heights of the Truebrand district, the Burning Eye Hold’s ruling elite hold court in their towering palace that looms next to the sacred Fury Temple. Here, they perform their duties as a governing body. Only those with an explicit invitation from the council or the
Steel Hawk General can visit the court or Spire here.
Fury's Temple
An immaculately carved temple at the volcano’s apex, the Fury Shrine is a dedicated holy site for most dwarves that symbolically marks the site of the Founders’ original outpost. It’s also used by many as a temple to the dwarven gods, including other diverse gods of artisanry and order, as well as a place to give thanks for the volcanic blessings that make the Burning Eye Hold habitable. Many dwarves consider a trek into Fury Shrine to be a sort of pilgrimage, typically recommended for those seeking divine assistance for exceptionally difficult and serious tasks. Devout worshippers consider it a privilege and responsibility to keep the deities appeased with offerings lest they rescind their blessing.
Steel Hawk Spire
Steel Hawk Spire is the tallest building in the Burning Eye Hold, constructed next to the mountain’s peak to give the faction an unparalleled vantage over the mountain range. Here, the faction uses their extensive network of tunnels, scouts, and trained bronze construct birds to disperse orders to the individual Steel Hawk Towers. From this central location, the Steel Hawks provide additional protection for the Temple’s clerics and the city’s council members on the Truebrand district.
Other Specific Locations
Steel Hawk Tower
Steel Hawk Towers are found on the Market, Residential, and Temple districts, providing the faction with unparalleled visibility of the city. Each outpost boasts a comprehensive armory, bunks, holding cells, and other requisite supplies to keep the Steel Hawks on their feet and in the air. Most the Burning Eye Hold towers also have secret entrances to the lava tubes below.
Lava Tubes
While most activity in the Burning Eye Hold centers around the landmark districts, the inside of the Blessed Mountain is riddled with winding lava tube passages and air-bubble caverns. Exploring these areas can be quite dangerous, as many subterranean creatures and elemental monsters call it home, and geothermal activity can occasionally alter the topography. There are a select few caverns, however, that are guarded and maintained as emergency shelters and warehouses in case of an attack on the city or a sudden influx of refugees in need of shelter. The Steel Hawks maintain a number of these passages for ease of movement across the mountain, though most denizens hear only rumors of their existence and use. The Old City as well is also hidden away within the
Society
The city uses red, yellow, and black for its iconography, representing the mountain’s dormant magma chambers, generous ores, and rocky landscape.
Government
When faced with the conundrum of determining who amongst the founding clans would rule, the negotiations settled on a democratic system, the members of the hold voting directly to elect, who rule over the hold for the next 12 years.
Culture
Fashion
Fashion trends toward dwarven-style earth tones with bright or bold colored accents added by immigrant cultures’ desires.
Cuisine
Cuisine within the city is traditionally dwarven-inspired, favoring warm and exceptionally spicy soups and stews to pair with potent dwarven ale or mead. The many immigrants to the city have brought along their own taste preferences, spurring a still-ongoing cultural revolution which has produced various sweet, spicy, and savory concoctions. As a general rule though, dwarven alcohol is still unmatched.
Reaching adulthood
One of their most visual rituals is the trial of fire: A challenge of might against an elemental of fire. If they succeed, they are deemed adult, and the sacred flames within Fury's temple is used to mark them with their first runic tattoo.
Tattoos. Runic tattoos cover the bodies of adult azer from the burning eye hold, a mark of their maturity, and of the trials they faced in their lives.
Religion
The Burning eye azer worship Fury as the goddess of fire, and are renowed for their fiery temper and their dedication to Fury. Many Azer of the Burning Eye hold do not trust history books, especially the scripts on Fury's history, as she's often depicted as greedy and evil.
Justice
The Burning Eye Hold’s legal documents and decrees are written in Dwarvish, and most of the city’s regulatory laws are based on strict dwarven traditions. Most severe crimes such as violence and murder, as well as theft and property damage, call for removal of the individual’s name and standing, as well as banishment when necessary.
The city boasts a military forces. Use the Guard Arrival Times table to determine how long it takes for guards to arrive at a location after a crime or similar incident is reported.
Valour
The denizens of the Burning Eye Hold are known as competitive but ultimately sympathetic people. They have never turned away refugees in their time of need, regardless of individual reasons. The few disastrous attempts to breach the city’s stalwart defenses have placed the Burning Eye Hold squarely out of reach of those with political and warmongering machinations. The city cares for each citizen, ensuring that all those within their borders have their basic needs met, though in return they ensure that individuals who can provide work or skills do so. As a whole, the city bustles with a myriad of blending cultures from across the land, unified by circumstance more than birth.
Factions
Steel Hawk
the Burning Eye Hold relies on the Steel Hawks for protection against any internal, external, or aerial threats. The Steel Hawks are dedicated to maintaining the Burning Eye Hold’s neutrality, but still offer advanced warning of any threats they observe from their various outposts to any neighboring cities or nations.
Economy
Trade and business within the Burning Eye Hold are typical in many ways, though a small number of differences are worth noting.
Much of the trade and haggling within the city, are conducted entirely in Dwarvish, even if no one involved is of dwarven heritage. Because of the city’s history, Dwarvish is simply perceived as more legally binding than other languages.
Although high in the volcanos, the city’s size necessitates imports via caravans. Such goods are typically common targets for roaming bandits, and often enlist the help of mercenaries or, for particularly valuable cargo, Steel Hawk soldiers.
Exchange
The economy of this city-state uses a unique currency system. While the value of these coins is primarily recognized within the city, they can be exchanged for standard gold coins at banks or exchange houses. The local coins correspond to standard coin values as follows:
- 1 gold ecu - 1 gold coin
- 1 electrum ecu - 1 electrum coin
- 1 silver ecu - 1 silver coin
- 1 copper ecu - 1 copper coin
Wealth
Wealth only belonged to the hold, which gave its citizens everything they needed. Some azers extracted the ores, while others manufactured it, the craftsmanship of the Burning Eye already renowned although the plane. Merchants and traders from across the planes came to the hold, thus generating wealth that would trickle down in the pocket of every azer in the city.
History
During the
Great Extinction, and the
Mountaingate War that followed within the
Ice-peak Concord territory, an expedition of six minor dwarven clans (Bravepike, Bronzehawk, Rustforge, Slatefist, Steelfist, and Truebrand) were sent to the plane of fire with two goals: establish a series of dwarven outposts, and develop a system of portals to allow the concord to channel to power of the lemental planesw. However, shortly after their departure, civil war between the refuge and dwarves caused the expedition to be abandonned. Cut off from all other resources, the six clans stubbornly held their ground against the onslaught of fire and ashes, carving out a home upon the volcano. When all seemed hopeless and it appeared all would perish from lack of air and burning heat, their prayers for divine aid seemed to be answered. From beneath the dormant volcano they discovered cascading veins of rare ores, making their permanent settlement possible thanks to trade.
As time passed, the clans carved out homes upon the Volcano, taking special pride and care in the construction of a temple to their deities: Fury, whom they believed saved them from the plane's fire. The clans decided to unit their ressources and divided their responsibilities. Eventually, their morphology changed with the influence of the plane, turning them to Azer.
As the outpost continued to develop, eventually becoming large enough to be considered a small city, it needed to change its system of governance in order to adapt. This gave way to a uniquely communist and community-based system of government. Wealth only belonged to the hold, which gave its citizens everything they needed. Some azers extracted the ores, while others manufactured it, the craftsmanship of the Burning Eye already renowned although the plane. Merchants and traders from across the planes came to the hold, thus generating wealth that would trickle down in the pocket of every azer in the city.
Adventure hook
Current Calamities
| 1d4 | Adventure Hook |
|---|
| 1 | Something has gone wrong in one of the Silver Eagle Forge Coalition’s warehouses—a cache of silver eagle weapons has vanished and they need help finding the culprit. |
| 2 | There’s an entropic flame, an elemental now corrupted attacking those who venture outside the city, and the Bravepike are looking for aid in hunting it down. |
| 3 | A number of expensive art pieces and jewelry have been reported missing, believed to be the work of a powerful and magical thief. Although the Steel Hawks are investigating, they are not well versed in magic and seek the help of adventurers. |
| 4 | A youth traveling with their merchant parents was left behind in the chaos of their caravan’s hasty departure for the City of Brass. They need an escort down the volcano to reunite with their family. |
mountain.
Notable members
Comments