POVERO REFERENCE

Online roleplaying at the Café
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

This thread contains background notes, maps, character roster for PCs and some NPCs, world info etc.

INDEX IN PROGRESS:

city of Povero
http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... =0#p220908

guilds of Povero

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 07#p222969



GENERAL INFO


money, the silver standard

http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... 07#p220909

gods and Religion
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 07#p222883

alignment

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 07#p223019

evil gods, Baleful Three in Povero

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 07#p223033

godly realms

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 15#p224399

symbols

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 15#p224614

offerings

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p231904

gnomic religion

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 15#p226549


languages

races of Men
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 30#p226916
monsters
http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... 07#p221800

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 07#p223074


science and magic
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 15#p226243

more on science
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p231764

moon
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p231789


technology
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 30#p226930


Beyond Povero

--The Crabclaw Peninsula



crude map
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p231350

houses
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p231347

slaves
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... 45#p232138
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Aug 29, 2017 9:48 pm, edited 24 times in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

ewancummins wrote:POVERO

City of the Glass Bay.
City of sails.
City of the merchant princes.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg12 ... mjoeo3.png


In two centuries, Povero grew from a poor fishing town to a burgeoning center of international trade.
No curtain wall guards the city, nor constrains its further growth. One story has it that the city fathers tore down the teetering old limestone walls twenty years ago, after a visiting cannoneer demonstrated his weaponry against the barrier to dramatic effect. But rather than invest in many of the newfangled weapons, the city council ordered the walls taken apart to pave the southern end of the long Bay Road.

Whether or not it really contains old wall stones, the Bay Road runs paved from the crossroads where it connects with the long hard-earth strip of the Great East-West Road. The Road marks the north edge of the city.
Urban farms and little villages absorbed into the spreading cityscape fill much of the northern expanse of the city.

Closer to the waterline, ShoreStreet runs east to west.
South of Shore Street, the villas, roadhouses, vineyards, and small farms of the city periphery give way to denser blocks of buildings, some three stories high. The houses stand closest together near the waterline, forming a mass of masonry and timber broken by broad access roads that connect to the quays.

A visitor in Povero can hardly miss the flower boxes under painted sills, vines clinging to stucco walls, squares of red tile roofs, and the hilltop gardens and palazzos of the rich.
Only the old fishing quarter looks shabby and rundown.

Povero draws sailors, peddlers , freighters, pilgrims, and other travelers year round, but the summer trading season sees the highest volume of traffic.

YOUR PARTY has arrived at the crossroads at the city rim in late summer, as warm weather cools and the early harvest wagons start rolling into market.

No one prevents you from entering. Without a proper wall, the city guards in the roadside strong-houses do not collect a toll on pedestrian traffic. There is, however, a toll collected on wagons and a " watering tax" laid on horses, donkeys, etc.

Povero awaits!

But first, pay tolls and tariffs on mounts and beasts of burden.
(Or perhaps try to enter from a side lane, across somebody's pasture, field, or vineyard, thus avoiding payment).
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

I have included the first IC post here because it contains some city info and a map link.

OTHER INFO ON THE CITY WILL GO HERE:

Coinage:

Brass Follaro
Silver Penny
Gold Ducat

(Equivalents to cp, sp, gp--- and don't forget the shift to a silver standard)
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

Players may post descriptions, pics, etc of their characters below this post.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
alhoon
Invisible Menace
Invisible Menace
Posts: 8804
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:46 pm
Location: Chania or Athens // Greece

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by alhoon »

Filderbrook "boomstick" Tazeloff

Image


+ The Arquebus.
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
My DMGuild work!
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT MONSTERS AND OTHER MENACES:

Undead
The priests say they are real, and the old women in your home neighborhoods/villages all agree. You haven't seen any.

Titus knows more, given his clerical training.



Beastmen

They are supposed to live in the Tanglewood, along with the Fair Folk.
Tom's father would have told him of such things as the pipe-playing goat-men and the terrible bull-heads.


horrid vermin, slimes, worm monsters, etc.

Fild has heard some about these critters from other plumbers (and from burrowing mammals). He has encountered at least one such creature while training in the Ghetto or laying drain pipes.

Ogres, orcs, other humanoids.

These creatures once plagued the land but they were all driven away into the wilderlands and mountain caverns a long time back.
Reputed to have very bad table manners. Like eating dinner guests.



Giants and Dragons

Alfonse has read a bit about such rare, powerful beings in the library at his university.
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Jul 26, 2016 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
alhoon
Invisible Menace
Invisible Menace
Posts: 8804
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:46 pm
Location: Chania or Athens // Greece

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by alhoon »

Does Fild have received training against giants and kobolds?
And what kind of burrowing monster? An Ankheg could have killed poor Fild before he managed to scream...
Bulettes and purple worms are even more out of his power (but at least they don't spit acid).


So, I guess you mean an ooze. Let's say (with your permission) the grandpa grabbed Fild moments before he stepped in something that he wouldn't step out from... gray ooze?
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
My DMGuild work!
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

alhoon wrote:Does Fild have received training against giants and kobolds?
And what kind of burrowing monster? An Ankheg could have killed poor Fild before he managed to scream...
Bulettes and purple worms are even more out of his power (but at least they don't spit acid).


So, I guess you mean an ooze. Let's say (with your permission) the grandpa grabbed Fild moments before he stepped in something that he wouldn't step out from... gray ooze?

Oozes work.
Gray ooze sounds good.

EDIT
Last edited by ewancummins on Thu Jul 14, 2016 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

COMMON RELIGION


THE NINE GODS
-----------------------------

THE WINGED VICTRIX

THE SPEAKER-IN-STORMS

THE FLEET MAIDEN

THE BLIND JUDGE

THE GREEN CORPSE

THE PALLID DREAMER

THE BRUTAL MASTER

THE LADY OF POISONERS

THE FLAME OF ANARCHY
----------------------


LOCAL GODS, PETTY GODS AND GODLINGS, SAINTS, HERO-DEITIES

So many exist that only scholars can keep track of them all. They can be very potent in their spheres of influence,and may rise to the honor of being included with members of the Nine in temples.
Many, though, remain minor figures with limited followings.


OTHER CONCEPTS:

PRIMAL SOURCE
UR-GEIST
NECESSITY
DUALISM
THE GREAT NOTHING
etc

Philosophers debate esoteric theologies that involve utilmate states of being, first causes, cosmic principles deeper than the Nine, etc. If you haven't got Religion NWP, you are likely unaware of the vast majority of such thinking.
This kind of thing has very little to do with common religious custom and practice.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

GUILDS OF POVERO

Many guilds exist.
A sampling follows:


THIEF-CATCHERS and LAWFUL REPOSSESSORS
Employed by the merchants and aristocrats to reclaim stolen property and pursue/harass robbers. This guild is fairly new and does not enjoy a legal monopoly on its trade, although in recent years more and more magistrates give credence to the guild certificate.
Its headquarters is a renovated former civic armory.

LOCKSMITHS
Also includes minor associations of braziers, trap-smiths, and tool-makers. Adventuring thieves (class) who do not belong to the Thief-Catchers may wish to join this guild. Membership does much to eliminate suspicion of the Watch or other authorities if thieves tools are found during a search. But the guild expels members caught moonlighting as burglars within POVERO, in order to protect its reputation. Looting dungeons is another matter.


PRINTERS and BOOKBINDERS
Not powerful enough to have a permanent seat on the Council, but still a prosperous guild. Membership tends to fall within certain families, even more so than in other guilds. Does business with magicians. Many booksellers in POVERO are also printers and binders, and so belong to this guild.
A scandal involving black magic damaged the guild's standing several years back, but has not harmed it too much-- the demand for its products and services remains strong.

RAGMEN and PAPERMAKERS
This guild grew from a merger designed to eliminate competition between rag cloth makers and pulp paper makers.
It employs members of the urban poor to clean the streets of anything recyclable, not just cloth, but also bones, wood scraps, discarded metal items, etc. Penniless visitors may seek such employment.
Allied with the Printers.


WATER CARRIERS
The Water Carriers include both street vendors and the specialists who oversee the underground and surface water delivery systems. Given Povero's lack of a major river, this guild has become so powerful that other guilds have combined efforts to block it from the Council. But it can make its influence felt in other ways.


THE WATCH
organized more like a military unit than a traditional guild. Technically a "collegium." Its original duties were limited to putting out fires and nocturnal protection of buildings, but it has since expanded into providing public order and stopping crimes in progress. The Watch is an ally of the Water-Sellers. Sometimes it cooperates with the Thief Catchers and Lawful REPOSSESSORS, but the city has seen brawls between night watchmen and members of that guild.
Members on patrol duty carry ranseurs.
Maintains stations equipped with siphon wagons, axes, ladders, and buckets.
It holds an essentially permanent city contract.


Note on sailors

They do not have a proper guild of their own. Associations exist, but the rulers of POVERO have prevented recognition of any sailors guild. It would be too dangerous to allow one guild that much power over the city ( a lesson learned from the Water Carriers).
Povero's navy uses press gangs to force able bodied men into service. Seamen are considered lower class by definition.
Officers, of course, are a different matter; most come from certain seagoing families.
The press gangs mainly target seamen, but sometimes make quota by nabbing lower class foreigners, ne'er do wells, and drunk landlubbers.

.......



ARMED BODIES OF POVERO


THE NAVY
Povero's navy defends the city and its merchant marine from pirates, privateers, and on occasion even seamonsters.
Discipline can be quite harsh.

THE MILITIA
Well equipped but for the most part inexperienced, Povero's militia hasn't fought a major conflict since the Abbrontes Campaign twenty-five years ago. The city sells commissions. Officers may be professional fighting men, but quite a few are foppish dilettantes or fat old gentlemen farmers.
One faction on the Council works toward strengthening land defenses and the militia, arguing that the current peace may not hold, and POVERO is dangerously exposed to a land invasion.


THE WATCH
Also considered a guild, but functions as a paramilitary unit, see above.


HOUSEHOLD FORCES

City laws limit the size of private forces. The three major aristocratic families:Savelle, Holbin, and Folbre , all employ hired swordsmen. Quality over quantity.
Savelle and Holbin men often brawl with one another, reflecting the longstanding rivalry of their respective masters.
Folbre men have remained neutral when they can.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

ALIGNMENT

There are no " alignment languages", as such.

Nor do characters normally use metagame terminology like "He is lawful good, that guy is neutral evil."

The nine alignments of AD&D do form an important part of the setting. The alignments map onto the Nine Gods.
But it isn't exact.

LAWFUL GOOD: The Winged Victrix
NEUTRAL GOOD: The Speaker in Storms
CHAOTIC GOOD: The Fleet Maiden
LAWFUL NEUTRAL: The Blind Judge
NEUTRAL: The Green Corpse
CHAOTIC NEUTRAL: The Pallid Dreamer
LAWFUL EVIL: The Brutal Master
NEUTRAL EVIL: The Lady of Poisoners
CHAOTIC EVIL: The Flame of Anarchy
Last edited by ewancummins on Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

WORSHIP OF THE BALEFUL THREE

In POVERO, public veneration of the three major evil-aligned deities is banned with certain exceptions.
In order to avoid drawing down the wrath of these three foul gods for the affront of ignoring them, the city fathers have provided the three powers with shrines in the civic temple. Priests of the temple leave propitiatory offerings at these shrines on fixed dates, always at night. The shrines remain veiled at all other times. Violating these shrines carries severe penalties.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

MONSTER ENTRY:
POVERAN WHARF RAT

The Poveran wharf rat infests the Warehouse District, the wharves, the back alleys of Fishtown, cellars of old buildings, etc. Good climbers. May attack humans in swarms, seeking to steal any edibles the target carries. More aggressive and possibly more intelligent than ordinary rats, these animals resemble the " dungeon rats" of adventurer's tales.

Attempts to mass poison them have failed, and one such plan tainted the city water supply by accident.
Locals control the rat population by feeding the semi-feral cats that roam POVERO. The cats have formed pounces (hunting groups) to offset the rat's numerical(swarm) advantage in combat. The citizens may also call in professional ratters, buy clever traps from the Locksmiths, or sometimes even hire magicians.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
User avatar
alhoon
Invisible Menace
Invisible Menace
Posts: 8804
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:46 pm
Location: Chania or Athens // Greece

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by alhoon »

Do they spread disease? A plague in a city this big with people so close to each other would be devastating like... well, like the plague.
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
My DMGuild work!
User avatar
ewancummins
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 28523
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Re: POVERO REFERENCE

Post by ewancummins »

alhoon wrote:Do they spread disease? A plague in a city this big with people so close to each other would be devastating like... well, like the plague.
They have not spread anything like the Black Death. Not yet, anyway.
But if one bites you, it's best to get that cleaned and poulticed soon.Really soon.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
Post Reply