Café de Nuit

Letters of credit..? Is that like a Dollar bill? (I know some of you are from different countries, so paper money?) Just double checking.

Here it is Ewan

Zilfer wrote:Letters of credit..? Is that like a Dollar bill? (I know some of you are from different countries, so paper money?) Just double checking.

The issuer agrees to reimburse the seller for the price of goods and services purchased by the bearer of the letter. Up to a set amount, and with verification, of course.

Merchants use these for long distance and/ or high value transactions. The system works on trust and good faith. Screw somebody over and people remember.

As this is a magical setting, it is possible that such letters may be stamped with arcane marks the wards. Forging one, or stealing it and impersonating the proper bearer, can be profitable. But it can also bring down the wrath of wealthy individuals whose reputations and finances have been damaged.

ewancummins wrote:

Zilfer wrote:Letters of credit..? Is that like a Dollar bill? (I know some of you are from different countries, so paper money?) Just double checking.

The issuer agrees to reimburse the seller for the price of goods and services purchased by the bearer of the letter. Up to a set amount, and with verification, of course.

Merchants use these for long distance and/ or high value transactions. The system works on trust and good faith. Screw somebody over and people remember.

As this is a magical setting, it is possible that such letters may be stamped with arcane marks the wards. Forging one, or stealing it and impersonating the proper bearer, can be profitable. But it can also bring down the wrath of wealthy individuals whose reputations and finances have been damaged.

For instnace, my pc Domenice who runs a business in ewan's BR game, knows very well what a letter of credit is. She needed them a lot when she first strated out with her business

The world is still very foggy, and don't matter much for this adventure. But I will provide a few details on two locations I have created for the setting, one near and one far.

Near:
The Abbrontes

A region of rugged hills and picturesque mountains, dotted with stonework ruins and infested with robbers and feral wolf-dogs. The local bandits cultivate a romantic image, but can behave savagely if refused tribute. Artists from POVERO sometimes visit this region to paint its landscapes. Several obscure ( and perhaps accursed) aristocratic families inhabit isolated and fortified villas in these highlands.

Inspirations: Gothic literature, highland regions of Italy, Salvator Rosa paintings


Far:
Chrysopoleon

A city across the sea, much older and richer than POVERO, but now suffering from pirate raids and nomad invasions. Called "The Golden Domed" for its famous Basilica of the Winged Victrix and its great civic library (larger than the impressive collection at Ferrantio, but smaller than it was before a barbarian attack burned part of the library).

Inspirations: Latin era Byzantium, Alexandria in Egypt

If you cannot see the whole map, let me know.

I may put up a cleaner and more detailed version later, but that should do for now.

It does not show all the buildings and streets, just major features/areas.
NORTH AT TOP


The earth tone shaded areas that cover much of the middle map show the less dense areas of the city, a patchwork of houses, tenements, small villas, shops, urban farms, and so on.

This city has grown up a lot over time, and is still growing.

In case you cannot make out the blue writing:

HOLBIN
SAVELLE
FOLBRE
(These names indicate the estates of three wealthy families)


GREAT EAST-WEST ROAD (earthen road)
BAY ROAD (paved south of crossroads)
SHORE STREET

FISHTOWN (a suburb)
THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT
THE MUNICIPAL DISTRICT/MUN DS
MARKET AREA
THE DANCING MAIDENS (a city park, open to public)

Howdy! That's a big, big city!
Is the scale correct Ewan? I expected the whole Povero to be a couple of square miles, including the outlying farms.

alhoon wrote:Howdy! That's a big, big city!
Is the scale correct Ewan? I expected the whole Povero to be a couple of square miles, including the outlying farms.

That was my first reaction, too.
But it is supposed to be a large city. Lots of people. Remember how you thoughts Haes was so small, and hoped for something bigger? Wish granted. Even with low density zones, this is a large, populous city.


More on all that:

Note that I interpret the map as including a lot of semi urbanized blocks and tracts. Urban farms. (given the scale, lack of city walls, and the way the sketch map I based this on shows open areas between major streets, I assumed a fair deal of food production for local consumption takes place in the city. ) Villas.

It is not a mass of built up areas, except in the designated zones of development: Warehouse District, Municipal District, Market Area. Those areas are dense, with taller buildings packed closely together.
Fish town, an old suburb that used to be a seperate settlement, is also fairly dense.

POVERO isn't bound by walls, so it has tended to sprawl.

The estates of the major families were outside the city proper until it grew to bump against them.
Each of the three major families owns big houses, lawns, gardens, wood lots, workshops etc.

http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

This one is handy for quick and dirty demographic calculations.

The JG Hex system used in Wilderlands is also quite good, though one must keep in mind its base assumptions work for wilderness regions with only scattered settlement.

If I may ask, do we know who is the person unlucky enough to be given the task to ensure the efficient day-to-day running of this urban nightmare? Sure, the money are probably good but still, that's a LOT of work. This city is HUGE in area and with the villas, no walls, etc it probably takes ton of work to make it run.

As for the "Medieval demographics made easy" my problem with it was... it's too heavily based on our world. If there were Frost giants in the Alps and Green dragons in the black forest, humans wouldn't be as widespread.

I will create, later, a seperate world development and background thread with all of this info and more.

We have thus far:

Map of POVERO and vicinity, taken from sketch map in Elrod's module
List of major urban features
Some notes on local customs and law
Some notes on local history
Brief description of climate

Gods list for the setting
Brief entry for one near and one far location, both off map

A few notes on demihumans

This is plenty. It will easily allow us to start play. But as a couple of guys are hammering out the last details of their characters, I am open to doing a bit more development here. We will be starting as soon as the last sheet hits my inbox.

So, any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas?

alhoon wrote:If I may ask, do we know who is the person unlucky enough to be given the task to ensure the efficient day-to-day running of this urban nightmare? Sure, the money are probably good but still, that's a LOT of work. This city is HUGE in area and with the villas, no walls, etc it probably takes ton of work to make it run.

As for the "Medieval demographics made easy" my problem with it was... it's too heavily based on our world. If there were Frost giants in the Alps and Green dragons in the black forest, humans wouldn't be as widespread.

One person?
Not at all.

There is a council of elders, or senate.

And, yes, it gets messy at times. An efficient, well run city government that provides a broad array of social services might be nice for residents, but it is pretty boring for gaming. There would be little for adventurers to do.

The big issues are , of course, water and sanitation. Small streams, numerous cisterns, underground aqueducts, and wells provide fresh water.
The city has sewers. Not fantasy New York walk around in them huge sewers, but a pipe network for laundry water, runoff, and effluvia.
Those extensive open areas? Plenty of room for cesspits. Nigh soil men cart waste to marked off, lime lined, approved areas where it won't pollute the wells, and burying it. This is a dirty job, but a man can make a living at it.

The watch enforces public order and guards the property of the wealthy. Watchmen stop Rogers and looters. Help put out fires.
It does not run what you might consider a modern police service. If someone wants a crime investigated, a stolen object recovered, or so on, he hires adventurers. Thief catchers, repossession men, private guards, etc.

Senate\Council? That is reasonable for a city this size; I really don't think it could be ran by a single person.