GM Whiteroses Curse of the Crimson Throne: On A Knife's Edge (Inactive)

Game Master Vanulf Wulfson

Map

The Harrowing

Majenko

Loot list

Harrow point uses:
  • Constitution Rerolls: PC can spend a Harrow Point to reroll a Fortitude saving throw, stabilization check, or other Constitution-based check. She must abide by the new result (although if she has additional Harrow Points remaining, she can use them to attempt additional rerolls).
  • Damage Reduction: PC can spend a Harrow Point to gain DR 3/—. This damage reduction persists for the duration of the encounter in which she spent the Harrow Point. A PC can’t spend multiple Harrow Points to increase this damage reduction.
  • Fast Hit Point Recovery: A PC can spend a Harrow Point after resting for 1 minute to recover from her recent ordeals. She regains a number of hit points equal to her character level and 1 point of ability damage each time she does so (this does not remove ability drain). She can spend a Harrow Point in this manner once after each encounter.
  • Number of times plague has been contracted:
    Aloysia = 0
    Gamon = 2
    Jolon = 1
    Nicolai = 2


    Map of Korvosa

    Faces of Korvosa

    Modern Korvosa:
    Those who live in Korvosa both respect and admire ostentatious displays of wealth, power, or knowledge. They consider confidence and competence the greatest of assets, and they deride or heckle those who display weakness, indecisiveness, or lack of ability. Korvosans are quick to judge and slow to forgive. They like to capitalize words, and many feel this minor trait gives their works and creations an air of greatness and importance.

    In addition to power, Korvosans love predictability. They like to regulate their lives, creating strict regimens for themselves that they then slavishly follow. Upsetting a Korvosan’s routine can ruin his entire day and is likely to make him cranky and belligerent. To this end, Korvosa militantly enforces its laws (which often have harsh punishments far in excess of those of other nonevil governments) and rewards those who play by the rules.

    Regulation and law dominate daily life in Korvosa. The city’s charter, an officially sanctioned document created by Emperor Halleck IV of Cheliax in 4406 ar, bears 247 amendments. These amendments add to and complicate the city’s myriad laws (which no leader can modify, except by additional amendment) and are considered as binding and official as the charter itself. In addition, a thick, multivolume body of work spells out Korvosa’s many other regulations, as well as the punishments for violating them. The complexity of Korvosan law is in some ways akin to the language of an infernal contract—overly convoluted and easy for a person in power to abuse for their own needs.

    By charter amendment, Korvosa does not allow merchants, laborers, or artisans to form guilds (yet it ironically does allow for a thieves’ guild). This practice prevents these groups from price-fixing and allows the city to maintain control over much of the labor force. Most workers within the city are self-employed or work for a master to whom they apprenticed in their youths. The city relies on these cottage industries and the skilled workers who make them profitable, so of course it has one entire volume of laws and regulations devoted to the protection and rights of workers. Thanks to the Korvosan drive to succeed, though, the city’s merchants also do well for themselves.

    Rumors:
  • “There’ve been more and more otyugh attacks lately; it’s like the monsters know things are bad up above and are clambering up from the sewers for fresh food!”

  • “King Eodred didn’t die of old age—he was made sick and thus murdered by someone he trusted! My money’s on the castle seneschal, Neolandus. Why else would he flee Korvosa after Eodred’s death?”

  • "Rumors that King Eodred was murdered are false; he died of old age, and anarchists are using the tragedy to damage Ileosa’s reputation and perpetuate unrest in the city."

  • “They never caught the Key-Lock Killer; he just vanished after killing nine people in their own locked homes back in 4797. They say that seven of the nine had ties to nobles who opposed the arbiters and that the Key-Lock Killer was on the arbiter payroll. I think the Key-Lock Killer was one of the arbiters themselves, and I think he’s still alive, serving as a judge to this day! It’s all a conspiracy!”

  • “The Acadamae’s closed its doors and says the doors will stay closed until the troubles in Korvosa die down. Can’t say I blame them!”

  • "King Eodred kept up his secret affairs to the day he died. Ironic, in a sense, if what I've heard is true-that he was murdered in his sleep by one of his paramours!"

  • The Shingles
    In many ways, the area known as the Shingles is like its own sub-ward of the city of Korvosa. Here, in shanties built atop roofs, on the upper floors of otherwise abandoned tenements, and amid jungles of chimneys, peaked roofs, and eroding gargoyles, are vagabonds, thieves, monsters, and other perils equal to those found in the most dangerous slums. Stirges and nests of imps haunt the gutters. The house drakes that lair here often cause nearly as many problems as the imps they seek to exterminate. Criminals use the Shingles as a highway to move about while remaining unseen by the Guard. Worst of all are the chokers—hideous aberrations with long, boneless arms—which have taken to the Shingles with tenacity, having resisted all eradication attempts. Stories of chokers reaching arms down through chimneys or upper windows are common and serve as the primary reason most citizens avoid going above the second floor in regions overshadowed by the Shingles.

    Korvosan Hinterlands
    Korvosa does not—much to its constant chagrin—reign supreme within Varisia or even its immediate vicinity. While its long-standing feud with Magnimar is a matter of record, Korvosa shares control of its own hinterlands with the following three power centers.

    Citadel Vraid: Built at Korvosa’s expense for the Hellknight Order of the Nail, this impressive structure stands atop a narrow table within the southern arm of the Mindspin Mountains. In theory, the Hellknights of Citadel Vraid are allied with Korvosa and frequently act as shock troops when the Korvosan Guard feels outmatched or doesn’t want to risk its own soldiers. Truthfully, the Order of the Nail serves only itself and remains on Korvosa’s side provided only that the city pays it.

    Janderhoff: The dwarves of the Sky Citadel of Janderhoff have lived in the region since they emerged here during their Quest for Sky, yet have never expanded significantly beyond Janderhoff’s walls. Most of the stone and metal used by Korvosa comes from Janderhoff, and in return the dwarves depend heavily on Korvosa for luxury goods, exotic foods, and other nonessentials. Janderhoff can survive without Korvosa’s support, although in less comfort.

    Kaer Maga: When the people of Korvosa began to explore the region around them, they eventually came across the walled-in city of Kaer Maga, along the edge of the Storval Plateau. The respective leaders of each city instantly took a dislike to one another, but in the past several decades since the Treaty of Sirathu, the two cities have existed in an increasingly cooperative state of peace, with (mostly illicit) trade growing between them with each passing year.

    The Cinderlands
    By far the least hospitable landscape in Varisia, the Cinderlands have been written off as worthless by most of the region’s residents—fit only for the crazed Shoanti barbarians displaced over the centuries by immigration from Cheliax. Yet such views are shortsighted, for within the Cinderlands’ borders lurks a surprising display of life and geologic diversity.

    These badlands are rugged, inhospitable terrain formed by long periods of drought and heavy wind erosion. Odd rock formations, canyons, gullies, and hoodoos fill the landscape, separated by twisting valleys and crags. Deep gorges create natural wind tunnels; the sound of the wind howling through them can carry for miles. Many of the rock formations have alternating tiers of sandstone and ash rock, creating a stark, contrasting ambience of red and black layers. The wind’s effect is everywhere—the geological formations are smooth and curving, mimicking the sand dunes of a desert. Large areas are solid rock, but other areas have stretches of leached soil and silt. Short, weedy scrub grows in patches throughout the badlands, interspersed with succulent plants.

    Current XP: 6123