GM Rednal's Planehopping from Bard's Gate (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

In the world of Lloegyr (called simply the Lost Lands by most), Bard’s Gate holds a place as an independent city-state and political and financial power far beyond its size and expected level of influence. It accomplishes this through a combination of extensive and lucrative trade networks, the ability to project its military power far beyond the capabilities of its actual military forces, and a level of political and diplomatic acumen far beyond that commonly seen in the region.

The trade networks that Bard’s Gate has carefully established and nurtured are the true key to its surprisingly expansive influence. From the beginning of its existence, the King’s Bridge trademoot and later the actual free city of Bard’s Gate realized that its principal function and means of continued existence relied upon a commanding influence on trade in its region. The fact that it controlled the northernmost crossing of the Stoneheart River, enabling east-west trade and north-south trade to easily coordinate, helped this endeavor immensely. The fact that its control of this crossing lay north of the traditional bounds of the Kingdoms of Foere and thus provided a neutral point of trade that, while allied with the Foerdewaith Crown, was able to maintain its own independent trade relations provided a convenient stopover for nations that were overtly hostile to Foere, such as some of the nation-states of Akados including Oceanus in the north and the Heldring in the south, or were occasional rivals of the Hyperborean Monarchy of Foere, such as Reme to the west and the borderland and sundered kingdom realms of the east. The fact that it lay upon the shortest land route between the eastern and western seas as well as the land route to the eastern continent only added to the strategic significance of its position.

In addition to the exceptional trade location of Bard’s Gate is added its exceptional handling and emphasis that is has purposely placed on the passage of trade. For most of the city’s existence the Stoneheart River’s system of cataracts just inside the forest of the south made river trade difficult at best, but early on the city installed well-maintained portages within the bounds of forest. Rangers were employed to patrol the surrounding woodlands and ensure that the portages remained safe for use and clear from hostile occupation by the unfriendly denizens of the forest. The use of these rangers and the exploits of their founder eventually expanded and became the genesis of the group known as the Longhunters who continue to provide wilderness security in the Bard’s Gate region to this day. And with the development of the unparalleled engineering demonstrated in Karling’s Contraption in recent years to provide a safe and reliable river lift to avoid the need of portage altogether, trade along the Stoneheart has never been more lucrative.

Similarly, Bard’s Gate quickly strove to — if not exactly tame — at least subdue the Lyre Valley to ensure that the roadways converging within it were safe for trade. Much of the city’s early coin went to funding the patrols of these roads so much so that the actual defenses of the city were greatly delayed. It was centuries after the city’s founding that proper walls were constructed. This interest similarly spread westward to the entirety of the Stoneheart Valley and led to the natural alliance and continued relations between the city and the Duchy of the Waymarch.

More recently as the city’s influence continued to expand and its high burghers and mayors contemplated greater aspirations, it began a subtle but determined policy of gaining leverage in sea trade. First investing its resources in Freegate as a principle port of trade and then slowly bringing to rein the heretofore often-lawless waters of the Amrin Estuary, Bard’s Gate began its expansion at sea. Always careful to neither offend nor favor the Foerdewaith Crown or the burgeoning naval empire of Oceanus, Bard’s Gate was able to carefully negotiate the margins between the two and gain its own maritime sphere of influence.

The resounding success of the city’s sea trade strategy in this is evidenced by the welcome of Bard’s Gate ships in every major port upon the Gulf of Akados and the Sinnar Ocean — both in Akados and Libynos — though with some level of begrudging tolerance in rival Endhome. Moreover, the city actually controls major ports of trade in Freegate, Eastgate, and at Cantyn Light with a major naval base at Telar Brindel precariously balanced between the mutually hostile ships out of Eastwatch and Tros Zoas. Yet despite the constantly wary navies of Foere and Oceanus out of the latter two ports, seemingly always looking for a fight over the least provocation, the ships bearing the flag of Bard’s Gate are able to traverse the Pontine Straits and beyond with little risk of boarding or search-and seizure. Both nations recognize the value of a powerful neutral trade partner.

The naval base and citadel at Telar Brindel is also an excellent example of the city’s ability to project power far beyond its ability to field forces sufficient to truly enforce this projection of authority. As a landlocked city with its only sea access through a river that winds more than a thousand miles through the territory of a rival kingdom and by trade roads that cover 500 miles or more just to reach the coast, Bard’s Gate is not a natural fit as a maritime trade power. However, the city leaders have wisely understood that generous coin and a free hand go much farther in diplomacy and remote leadership than a sharpened spear and firm grip. The high burghers consistently promoted profitability over patriotism and, as a result, were able to lure in and hire the best naval officers of the eastern seas. The free flow of coin also ensured that quality ships could be built or purchased for this cream of the crop to command. The lack of an ethnic or national identity permits sailors from any nation-state to sign on to crew these ships for decent wages, good leadership, and without fear of impressment by their own or any other navy they may encounter. Serving as a sailor in the navy of Bard’s Gate is not the most prestigious of naval traditions, but it is by far one of the most lucrative among the rank-and-file with better pay and better conditions than most.

With quality ships under skilled masters plying the waters of the Amrin Estuary and Pontine Coast to squelch its centuries-long tradition of piracy and to help keep the sea trade flowing, it was only natural for the city to look to guard its land interests at its ports of call. Ships companies tend to want to stay with their ships, and a company of marines is only equipped and provisioned for maintaining a land position for so long, so the city knew it needed a more permanent solution — or at least somewhat more permanent. The city has no tradition of a permanent standing army, and as a free trade city never had need of one. Its own defenses are maintained by the small, elite force of the Lyreguard and the ranks of volunteer Free Defenders, neither of which are numerous enough nor particularly suited for a stationing at a distant post.

For long years the city had maintained a special relationship of mutual defense with its western neighbor, the Duchy of Waymarch, that had expanded into a tradition of hiring the numerous-but poorly-funded forces from the duchy as long-term mercenary companies. The advantage of these hires lay in the continued good relations with the city’s closest neighbor and the benefits of discipline and stability that came from hiring mercenary forces from an existing military rather than just roving free companies. The constantly renewing treaty and contracts have proved lucrative for both the cash-strapped duchy and the cavalry troopers themselves who receive not only their standard pay, largely funded by the coffers of Bard’s Gate per the terms of the contract, but also a substantial foreign-service bonus that is entirely funded by Bard’s Gate. This engenders a loyalty and comity among these mercenary troops that Bard’s Gate enjoys and has come to rely on more than once. Originally, the use of the Waymark troops allowed Bard’s Gate to free up more of its native forces to man the distant posts of its hegemony. However, the more recent legal innovation allowing Waymark forces to be deployed directly to these holdings has increased the security and presence of Bard’s Gate’s forces abroad and has resulted in the unusual occurrence of sighting cavalrymen of Waymarch in such far-flung places as Telar Brindel, the Moon Fog Hills of the District of Sunderland, and the mouth of the Binjeran River at Cantyn Light, as well as many points in between.

The result of all this diplomatic, financial, and legal wrangling is that the city of Bard’s Gate continues to maintain and fund only a relatively small permanent military force, but through its allies and prodigious purse is able to place competent, professional forces far afield to maintain and steadying presence and even reinforce them with greater numbers as needed to deal with local threats. The fact that it is in the great interests of many allied nations that Bard’s Gate maintain its neutrality as well as its trade connections ensures that no formal military threat has ever imperiled one of these outposts. The value of the free city’s existence was further underscored with a recent attack on Bard’s Gate by the foreign Huun invaders that mobilized much of the folk of Akados to come to their aid. The fact the Huun were seen as an imminent threat to all peoples of the continent certainly called for a cooperative military response, but loss of coin by the many nations with the city’s investment surely spurred them on to swifter and more direct action — a development that was not lost on the city leaders nor on the surrounding powers that be as the city and entire continent look forward into the uncertain times that they face.

The final key to the unprecedented success and power of a city the size of Bard’s Gate and the fundamental role that it has played in its relatively short history in Akados is the legendary diplomacy and political maneuvering of its leadership and ambassadors. A free city that is a fraction of the size of most of the continent’s major cities is not only able to count itself among them (if not above them) but finds its diplomats on equal footing with even the most powerful courts of two continents. Much like with the trade networks and financed allies as mentioned above, this final principle of the city relies on the same circumstances — wealth and a diverse cast from which to call upon. As a center of trade, Bard’s Gate commands financial resources equal to or exceeding even the great banker cities of the continent such as Remballo and Tourse. But unique, perhaps in all the world, to Bard’s Gate is its emphasis as a center of education. The courts of distant Ammuyad are said to sponsor great universities, and many cities across Akados boast great institutions of learning, but few have placed the resources and civic support behind them like that of Bard’s College. The first true high burgher of Bard’s Gate was the founder of the college after all, and its support and emphasis became a tradition followed by all high burghers thereafter.

But even more than this nearly unprecedented level of sponsorship (there are certainly universities in Reme and Courghais that have received more political or financial backing) is that Bard’s College doesn’t merely teach musical skill and the arts, it teaches oratory and diplomacy. Many of the graduates of Bard’s College go on to become some of the greatest and most famous maestros and artists in the world, and more importantly many of them go on to become some of the greatest leaders and statesmen. And if there’s more than a little magical training in their curriculum, it only serves to enhance their already considerable training in engaging and influencing people.

It is a fact that Bard’s Gate is home to more individuals per capita with high character class levels than virtually anywhere else in the known world, and this certainly lends to both the quality of the training and the skill level (in both the mundane and magical arts) that Bard’s Gate fields as diplomats, envoys, spies, and agents. Combined with no small amount of guidance and support by a body as august and powerful as the Dominion Arcane, which has its own interest in seeing the city prosper, the ambassadors and negotiators are formidable indeed, as well as, backed by a significant treasury for use in smoothing paths and brokering deals. The representatives of Bard’s Gate are neither so immoral nor so foolish as to try something as crude and underhanded as magically charming those with whom they negotiate with, but there are many applications of magic that are benign and supportive and even more applications of valuable skills and experience gained in the learning and practice of such arts.

A common saying among those who deal with diplomats from Bard’s Gate is, “Keep your eye on your purse, not because they’ll steal it but because you’ll end up giving it freely”. Many a foreign negotiator, leery of magical influence, comes to the table with the envoys of Bard’s Gate prepared with dweomers to detect and dispel any charms and influences that might be in effect, but none are ever found and such measures are ultimately pointless. The skills and abilities brought to the negotiation table by a legate of Bard’s Gate are much too subtle and effective for such methods to disrupt.

Laws and Customs

As a free city, Bard’s Gate establishes its own laws and customs. Though as a trade city, these are principally designed to protect the interest of visiting traders as well as the city’s residents in order to keep trade open and vibrant.

Weapons and Armor

Generally, the various District Watches allow the wearing of light armor (and hide armor as a medium armor) unless otherwise noted. Medium (other than hide) or heavy armors are frowned upon if not outright prohibited. At best, guardsmen take note of those wearing such armors and will approach and question them closely, threatening them with arrest if they do not leave the district immediately and not come back until they have removed the offending armor. If the wearer can show official credentials as being about the business of the city or are successful at making a DC 20 Diplomacy check (modified by the District Modifier listed in each district’s description), then they are allowed to go about their business though still under careful observation (–4 to all attempts at Stealth, Sleight of Hand, Disguise, or similar checks). In addition to the prohibition on armor only light weapons, longswords, rapiers, or whips may be carried openly, and these must be sheathed.

There is no requirement of “peace-binding” such weapons, as this is generally seen as an effete affectation, though many aristocrats and some young fops have adopted the custom. Martial weapons, two-handed weapons, and exotic weapons must be stowed. No polearms are allowed. Persons in violation of these rules quickly draw the attention of the guard.

After a warning, persistent violators have their weapons confiscated. If serious problems arise, veteran warriors are called in to deal with violators, as are priests of Vannithu, who volunteer with the guard. These laws are more strictly enforced as one moves closer to the Keep District — in some outer districts, the constables do not have enough manpower to enforce weapons laws too strictly, and often let minor violations slide as long as no one causes trouble.

Magic

Open use of magic is frowned upon — particularly spell casting. The casting of low-level personal spells is tolerated, though not in shops or stores. Destructive spells or spells affecting others are always outlawed, though unless done in the open one most likely avoids detection. This draws the attention of the constables and a sheriff, and possibly a low-level wizard with the sheriff.

Defenses

The town has recently replaced an earthen rampart and wooden palisade around the city with a stone wall capped with a crenellated parapet. The entire fortification rises 50 feet. The town is separated internally by canals with narrow bridges that provide an additional defense in the event the outer walls are breached, and allow for defense by a relatively small number of defenders.

The Canals

The canals were built to help facilitate the river trade (or avoid taxes on said trade), and cut a swath through the eastern and western sides of the city. Numerous bridges cross the canals at various points. These small bridges are removable, designed by dwarven engineers of the Silverhelm Clan, with strategic sections along their length that can be removed from either side in only minutes. They offer greater security in the event that the city is overrun, and defenders find themselves retreating to the security of the inner city.

Economics

Bard’s Gate is a remarkably prosperous city, especially given its small size. The mountains to the north used to provide metals and gems, but the mines have become too dangerous to maintain with the recent incursions of raiders in the valley and the darker threats of the higher slopes. For this reason, Bard’s Gate relies heavily on overland and river trade to the West and South. Any interruptions of traffic are investigated by the City’s agents, and especially serious problems draw the attention of Imril and his Lyreguard.

Religion

A liberal and tolerant city, Bard’s Gate is home to many different faiths.

The city’s primary religion is the worship of Oghma, God of Bards and Protector of Bard’s Gate. Closely following Oghma is the worship of Dre’uain the Lame, God of Crafts, thus the preponderance of well-made goods in the city, and Sefagreth, the official patron of the trade upon which the city is built. A shrine to Tykee, Goddess of Luck and Good Fortune, is very popular with the populace, and sees much traffic in the Bridge District. Freya, Goddess of Love and Fertility, has a very loyal following, especially among the youth. Yenomesh, the God of Glyphs and Writing, is extremely popular with the college crowd, and the abundant arcane community. Vanitthu, God of the Steadfast Guard, is venerated by many of the various city watches; his temple in the Old Temple District is a bastion for city defenders. Belon the Wise, the God of Travel and Magic, is rising in popularity, his name carried on the lips of many making their way around the Lost Lands. The Khemitite goddess Bast also enjoys an unusual popularity for a western city, the presence of her cats seen as a mark of good luck by the inhabitants.

Other notable religions include the worship of the older gods, such as Thyr, God of Justice and his sister Muir, Goddess of Virtue — though the people of Bard’s Gate tend to deemphasize these gods’ lawful natures, and respect, rather than truly revere them. These two deities suffered a major setback with the sacking of their more prominent temples to the north, near the Stoneheart Valley Dungeon. Jamboor, the Hyperborean God of Magic and Secrets, is still given lip-service by many within the Dominion Arcane. The grain goddess Ceres was once oft-venerated among the folk of the city but now is all but forgotten. In like manner worship of these old gods has declined, along with their once-proud temples, and many of the newer gods hold sway over Bard’s Gate.

Many, many other gods and goddesses are venerated in Bard’s Gate as well, and some outsiders refer to it as the City of a Thousand Gods, with good reason. Such deities as Moccavallo, God of Treachery, Mitra, God of Justice and the Sun, Pekko, God of Ales and Grains, and Gromm, God of Storms, are but a few of the gods that have shrines and devoted priesthoods. The city’s nonhuman inhabitants also follow their own faiths as well, including Dwerfater and Darach-Albith, as well as a long-venerated shrine to the Bird Goddess Rhiaan, who is seen as a protector of the vale, and a temple to the enigmatic deity known only as The Spider.

The open worship of evil deities is prohibited, though in a city this size there are always secret cabals of evil that go unchecked and in the shadows, darker worship services are held. It is widely rumored that the Cult of Orcus, Demon-Prince of the Undead, has established itself in Bard’s Gate, and stories of the Cult of Set and its abominable practices circulate constantly. The Toad-God Tsathogga, whose followers assisted in desecrating the Valley of the Shrines, are also said to be present here, working behind the scenes to bring ruin to the city. Recently, activity in the sewers suggests the Rat-Queen S’Surimiss is actively taking a role in the City. So far, the authorities have proved unable to root out these cults or even to conclusively prove that they exist. Rumors suggest that the Cult of Hel may be active again in the Wilderness, and strange disappearances in the Foreign Quarters, as well as whispers in the Black Market, suggest The Master may be the one behind the local slave-trade.

Peoples of Bard’s Gate
Bard’s Gate has, perhaps, one of the most eclectic populations in the world. It seems that all of Lloegyr passes through the gates of the city at least once, and on any given day it is likely that at least one representative of every major ethnicity in the world can be found in or around the City of the Lyre. However despite this varied abundance of cultures and peoples, there are certain groups that are much more common and examples of whom can be found without too much effort on the part of the searcher. These groups are included herein.

Humans

Ashurians

Ashurian is a broad label applied to a great many human ethnic groups of northern and western Libynos. Technically Ashurian is most accurately applied to those dwellers of the Ashurian Desert beyond the Isthmus of Irkaina and north of the trade sea known as The Free Main. These are primarily citizens of the Ammuyad Caliphate and the many tribes of the Assurian Plains and are speakers of the Semuric language. Though there is great diversity in their appearance and mannerisms, in general they are of a darker complexion and slightly shorter and more slender build. However, there are many examples among the Ashurians where a pale skin tone and taller stature are evidenced. The only truly universal feature seems to be a tendency towards dark hair. Ashurian folk are almost always visitors to the city, usually as traders or eastern mystics seeking knowledge from Bard’s College of the Dominion Arcane. Very few Ashurians dwell within Bard’s Gate at full-time residents.

Erskaelosi

Wanderers who migrated long ago from the Irkainian Desert during the time of the Great Darkness, these barbaric folk found little welcome and less opportunity in their travels south until finally reaching the Kingdom of Burgundia on the Sinnar Coast. There they constructed the city of Tyr after the fashion of their lost northern settlements. However, after the fall of Burgundia in 3354 I.R. many displaced Erskaelosi began to wander once again. The wide open places of the Unclaimed Lands of the northern Borderland Provinces and the Plains of Mayfurrow north to the Dragon Hills proved to be sparsely settled and offered a degree of freedom from persecution not experienced since the height of Burgundia. Mayfurrow has since become a more settled and civilized realm with only a few small bands of Erskaelosi wandering about, always careful to avoid agitating the villages and steadings of the plains. But to the north many large bands of Erskaelosi still run free, and more than a few of these have settled in Acregor where they serve as mercenary bands in that country’s armies.

Few Erskaelosi live within the walls of Bard’s Gate or even enter the city proper for that matter, but Tent City is always alive with these rough-edged plains folk looking for a drink or looking for a fight with equal vigor. They get along well with the Plainsmen and the Riverfolk but are looked at suspiciously by the folk of the city who often see them not so much as neighbors but rather as a potential threat. For their part, the bluff and boisterous Erskaelosi have no qualms about reinforcing these stereotypes as an excuse to drink hard and play hard while stopping over in the rough-and-tumble Tent City.

Erskaelosi tend be tall stocky, with weather-beaten — often freckled — skin and brown or black hair worn long and loose by men and women alike. Their eyes range from dark browns to bright greens. They are usually garbed in rough skins and are prone to tribal symbols tattooed or branded upon their face, arms, and chest.

Foerdewaith

Like most modern human inhabitants of Akados, the folk of Bard’s Gate and its hinterlands generally get lumped into the ethnicity known as the Foerdewaith, though this is more by convenience of association with that old empire rather than a true blood lineage. The Foerdewaith of Bard’s Gate tend to have the lighter brown hair and more deeply tanned skin tones commonly found in eastern Akados as opposed to the fairer skins and darker hairs of western Akados. They have no especially great link with the purer Foerdewaith lineages of central Akados but rather tend to be descended from the vassal tribes incorporated into Foere in the Gulf of Akados and northern Sinnar Coast regions, though with a strong strain of Rheman form their long and close association with the Duchy of Waymarch.

Heldring

For most parts of eastern Akados, peaceful contact was not achieved with the folk of the Helcynngae Peninsula until after the final defeat of that people at Oescreheit Downs by Osbert II in 2802 I.R. However, with the long isolation of the folk of Freegate during and following the Great Darkness, their inherent Hyperborean and later Foerdewaith hostility towards the Heldring was muted and largely even forgotten. While Heldring raiders fought tooth and nail for land and resources along the Sinnar Coast, farther north they found a more or less friendly port in Freegate. Many Heldring not wishing to partake in the wars of the south and oftentimes those injured in said and no longer able to stand in the shieldwall came to far Freegate and were able to trade coin and livestock gained in their raiding for supplies and building materials to use in the gentle Plains of Mayfurrow. For their own part, the folk of Freegate felt little kinship with the Foerdewaith lands to the south and had not repugnance in trading with Heldring immigrants as long as they did not try to settle in their insular city in any great numbers. The sum of this oddly peaceful interaction was that many of the farmers and landholders of Bard’s Gate’s hinterlands are of mixed or even pure-blooded Heldring descent.

Interaction has continued into recent centuries with the largely peaceful folk of the peninsula continuing their tradition of trade with Freegate and eventually its patron inland city. This has resulted in a continuing influx of Heldring folk as well as the old lineages that still thrive in the area and is especially apparent among the city’s population with the higher incidence of folk of especially tall stature and hair of purest blond.

Huun

Little is known of these mysterious peoples of the far eastern regions of Libynos and even less is thought of them. The legendary “Black-Eyed Huun” of old crusader tales appeared suddenly at the very verge of the Lyre Valley and held the city captive within its siege line for more than a year before disappearing just as swiftly in retreat before the approaching forces of the Overking of Foere. Most of the damage left by these dark-skinned and desert-robed invaders has been erased, though the great scar known as Hel’s Acre remains around the city as a reminder of their presence. Huun are never seen within the city and were never able to breach its walls during their siege, but rumors persist that bands of stragglers still remain hidden within the Lyre Valley or its foothills and watch the roads and river for some unknown but certainly sinister purpose. Other, darker rumors likewise persist that the Huun never intended to truly breach the walls of the city but merely invested it with their encampment to draw in the armies of Foere from the south only to withdraw and lure them into the northern wilds with some unknown intent. This is surely only the whispers of paranoia and rabble-rousers, but the continued lack of word from the long-overdue armies of the Overking seem to lend them greater credence daily.

Hyperboreans

Scholars the world over, from Castorhage to Pharos, consider the Hyperborean race as a distinct lineage to be extinct. The last remnant of that ancient people disappeared from Tircople 900 years ago, and from Akados a century before. Not so the good people of Freegate. In their minds the folk of ancient Hyperborea live on and thrive, preserved in their own bloodlines. The people of Freegate are renowned for their archaic ways and stilted practices, ever clinging to the mannerisms of a people and an empire long lost in time. And there is truth in their argument; Freegate was indeed isolated for many years and always remained fairly xenophobic in its dealings with outsiders. But centuries of free trade and friendly relations with Bard’s Gate and elsewhere have taken their toll so that other than their classical modes of dress and outdated ways of thinking, there is little evidence to suggest that Freegate remains as the lone bastion and legacy of that great Akadian empire. Some have noted, however, that the preponderance of skin tones of Freegate tending to be perhaps a bit paler and hair and eyes possibly a bit lighter in hue than commonly seen in the region could lend some credence to this theory.

Khemitites

Bard’s Gate is virtually unique in Akados in that there is an actual permanent (if small) population of the folk of distant Khemit in its midst. This can primarily be attributed to the presence of the Temple of Bast and the special relationship it has enjoyed in the city since the time of the Shabbisian plagues. The few Khemitites to be found in the city are virtually all connected with the temple in some way, and many of them choose to wear the dramatic dress of Ancient Khemit to set themselves apart and draw the admiring attention of those around them. This practice has diminished somewhat in the last two years after several of its adherents were found mysteriously murdered during the time of the Huun siege. If there was some connection or enmity between the Khemitites and Huun is unknown, and if and how Huun assassins were able to infiltrate the city’s walls when their army could not remains equally unexplained. But some have noted that the Khemitites in the city walk a bit more cautiously and draw a little less attention to their exotic looks and clothing than before, though what they may fear with the Huun threat now passed is a mystery.

Oceanders

Not truly an ethnicity in its own right, in recent years it has become more and more common for citizens of Pontos Island to be considered a distinct group racially. In truth, they are simply another of the vast number of peoples melted together into the amalgamation of folk known as the Foerdewaith, but their success in remaining a rival empire for the last 300 years has caused their claims of racial distinction to gain some traction. With Bard’s Gate’s position of being independent and outside the claimed boundaries of the Kingdoms of Foere, it has enjoyed the ability to trade with the Empire of Oceanus while most ports of the Sinnar Coast remained closed to its ships. In fact, it was the spirit of amiability early on that allowed Bard’s Gate to successfully establish and expand its reach into the sea trade of the Gulf of Akados.

Oceanders look much like other Foerdewaith, with perhaps their skin slightly more sun-darkened by years spent at sea and eyes a bit more creased from squinting against the glare off the waves. They tend towards shorter hair and fewer beards than their land-bound cousins, though this is by no means universal among them.

Plainsmen

The Plainsmen are a nomadic folk who wander the great plains of the Waymarch and and Northmarches of the Grand Duchy of Reme. These horse-riding folk are all descended from Shattered Folk tribes allowed to cross the Wizard’s Wall in the Rhemian lottery that is held every 50 years and take up their nomadic ways in the wide-open expanses of eastern Reme. Since only a tribe is allowed over the wall and it is done only twice per century, the Plainsmen tribes hold little loyalty to their lands of their ancestors on the Haunted Steppe or to the other Plainsmen tribes that occupy Reme. In truth the Plainsmen consist of a half-dozen separate tribes called the Grass Sailors, Quick Knives, Stone Faces, Thunder Riders, Stone Walkers, and Beast Takers, respectively. There are some familial relations and loose alliances and rivalries between the tribes, but nothing so strong as to cause them to unite as a single people — an outcome carefully arranged by Reme who did not wish to see the rise of a powerful and united rival people within its midst.

Despite being superb horsemen and virtually unmatched light cavalry, the Plainsmen are also great traders, able to carry the goods of distant Reme much more quickly than traditional caravans, if in smaller quantities. The Plainsmen are accustomed to encountering a certain amount of prejudice among some within Bard’s Gate, so they normally stick to the confines of Tent City with the other “barbarians”. However, since the removal of Tent City to the eastern side of the river, more and more Plainsmen can be found within the city itself as they must use the bridges to cross the Stoneheart just like everyone else. As a result, many more of the Plainsmen linger within the city walls and are becoming a more commonplace and accepted sight by the citizenry. Ironically, it is perhaps within Tent City itself, where they are supposedly intended to actually reside, that they often experience the worst of the prejudicial treatment against them.

As descendants of the Shattered Folk tribes, the Plainsmen share the same skin tones ranging from a burnt sienna to mahogany and have almost universally straight, black hair — usually worn long — that tends to gray early. Beards and excessive body hair are rare among these folk, and their tendency to long limbs and lean muscle have caused many folk of the city to remark at their physical beauty as a people. Eyes are almost always black or deep brown, and their typical garb is finely crafted leather or hide garments often decorated with feathers or tribal tokens. Tattoos are normal though not as frequently seen as among the Erskaelosi.

Interestingly, the Plainsmen tend to get along exceptionally well with their barbarian counterparts from the eastern bank of the Stoneheart. As mentioned, the Plainsmen have traditionally not traveled beyond the river boundary (though the less numerous Erskaelosi seem to share no such compunction) and still continue to confine themselves to its western side other than trips to Tent City, but in Tent City itself where the two peoples meet most frequently they tend to enjoy each other’s company a great deal. Revels held in the ale tents that involve the two peoples almost always extend late into the night, often become legendary for their boisterous excess, and almost never degenerate into a brawl — something that cannot typically be said for other folk who try to party with the Erskaelosi.

Riverfolk (Arkaji)

“Who exactly are the Riverfolk?” is a question that has yet to be answered, though truthfully is largely left unasked.These folk have been known to fish the waters and hunt the banks of the Stoneheart for centuries and generally accepted as a fixture of Bard’s Gate and its environs by most in the city. But the Riverfolk — a title placed on them by the folk of Bard’s Gate, they refer to themselves as the Arkaji, were not always there, and some few have speculated as to where their true origin lies. It is well established that prior to 3036 I.R. they were virtually unknown in the city and only sporadically commented on in the city’s annals as boatfolk who plied the Stoneheart under the forest eaves. After the Hard Cold, however, when the lushness of the valley died and famine set in, this previously almost unseen people came up the river, emerging from the Stoneheart Forest and seeking solace in the city. The city leaders’ first instinct was to turn them away as vagabonds, until someone noted the ease and skill with which they maneuvered their watercraft upon the river. Bard’s Gate was in the process of importing large amounts of grain from the south to make it through the hard times, and a reliable and fast means of river travel could only help. That proved to be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship between the enigmatic river folk and the city folk that has continued to this day.

The Riverfolk still principally live within the Stoneheart Forest, in the eastern stretches of the central swamp in particular where they eke out a living as small-plot farmers eel fishers and live in constant tension with the crake tribes of the west. But their talent for handling shallow-draft watercraft in the swamps and upon the river is peerless. Riverfolk craft typically consist of small personal canoes, larger cargo canoes, or flat-bottomed skiffs capable of handling even greater amounts of cargo and even passengers. And some of the river folk have been known to successfully shoot the Stoneheart Falls in their small, sturdy canoes rather than take the time for portage or to wait for the lift.

A great number of the Riverfolk can be found in the city or upon the river waters in service to the city at any given time. Riverfolk craft ply the waters up and down the Stoneheart even into the lower Stonehearts Mountains and as far down the Great Amrin River as Eastgate, but few if any will take to the waters of the estuary, and despite its best efforts the city has had little success in recruiting these folk as crew for their open water vessels. The Riverfolk avoid leaving the confines of the riverbanks for the open sea, but none has ever said what it is they fear.

Who the Riverfolk are descended from remains a mystery, for their pale pinkish skin tones prone to sunburn and freckling, eyes ranging from deep blue to pale, nearly colorless, and their bristly and curly hair and beards (or thick sideburns at least) ranging in color from auburn to black with many going stone gray at an early age clearly set them apart from the other Foerdewaith peoples of the region. They claim to be descended from the Arcadians of the ancient mountain kingdom of Arcady and take their name for themselves as a corruption of that long-lost people, but their language of Kra bears no resemblance to the Khemitian that was spoken by the folk of Aka Bakar’s kingdom. Some few scholars speculate that they may indeed by a last offshoot of some Hyperborean strain, and indeed their language does contain many parallels with old High Boros, but to date no records of any Hyperborean clan or family group has been found to support this possibly spurious claim either. One thing that is acknowledged by all, however, is that despite some superficial similarities, they do not appear to be in any way related to the Gaeleen of the Borderland Provinces.

Wanderers

It is probably a misnomer to call the Wanderers a “people”, however, it is just possible that it represents the beginning formation of an all new ethnicity unlike any that has been seen before in Akados. The Wanderers are a mix of different peoples and even races — humans of many and mixed lineages, half-orcs, even some halflings and other assorted odds and ends. Whatever they lack in heritage, however, they have commonality in their story; for whatever background they come from all share a single trait, they are all exiles from their respective homelands. Under normal circumstances in the Lost Lands, these folk would be the dregs of society, friendless, homeless, and forced to fend for themselves in isolation. However, the unique opportunities and acceptance of outsiders found in Bard’s Gate has engendered a phenomenon unseen before. These disparate individuals have come together in a united band, and not just as a group of ruffians or desperadoes. They have come together as a group and have truly created their own society.

The Wanderers are a small nomadic culture, numbering no more than several hundred in all and traveling in several groups of a few dozen apiece. They travel across the wide expanses of the plains to the east and west and the valley between and have found a modicum of acceptance throughout these lands. They live a gypsy-like existence traveling in caravans of covered wagons and stopping at camps for up to several weeks at a time while they provide tinkering, odd jobs, labor, and entertainment services to the surrounding communities and forms. Folk don’t necessarily welcome the odd Wanderer groups into their communities with open arms, but as long as they maintain their camps outside of the settlements and cause no trouble while they’re in town they’re accepted with little suspicion and sometimes outright joyful anticipation for the bit of color they can bring to otherwise drab days. In Bard’s Gate itself the Wanderers are rarely found inside the city walls in any numbers, but they maintain a semi-permanent encampment within Tent City where they find easy welcome.

As a group composed of outcasts of mixed backgrounds, the Wanderers are not constrained to growth through their own reproductive abilities. And as new outcasts who have heard of them make their way to them, as long as they are not violent criminals or harbor evil intent (there are a great many diviners among the Wanderers) they are welcomed into the group creating a growth rate that has exploded in recent years. In addition to their newly burgeoning population, it is possible that the fortunes of the Wanderers is about to change among the movers-and-shakers of the city, for the first of entertainers from among the Wanderers have just been admitted into Bard’s College. If these individuals can prove themselves of true talent among even those high circles, the Wanderers may soon find their reputation vaulted to undreamed-of heights.

Dwarves

There are three different subtypes of dwarves encountered in and around Bard’s Gate: hill dwarves, mountain dwarves, and street dwarves. Each subtype is described separately below.

Hill Dwarves

Most numerous of the dwarves to be found in Bard’s Gate are the hill dwarves. These ruddy-skinned, stocky folk have beards and/or sideburns that tend to be thick and in hues of dirty blond to dark brown. They are mainly miners and craftsmen like their kin elsewhere and are most commonly found in the foothills south of the Graywash River as well as a sizable population in the city itself. There are also significant populations of these folk in the Dragon Hills and isolated communities built around and among the granite hillocks of the Plains of Mayfurrow. They traditionally avoid the foothills to the north of the Stoneheart Valley as mountain dwarf territory, and the two groups do not get along well together though they manage to hold their peace within the city itself.

Mountain Dwarves

The mountain dwarves to be found in Bard’s Gate are universally of the Silverhelm Clan of the northern Lyre Valley in the Stoneheart foothills. The Silverhelm is a part of the Great Mountain Clan Krazzadak and are an anomaly in that they are friendly to the lowland humans — at least the humans of Bard’s Gate. It was likely the Silverhelm Clan — or its distant ancestors — that first came to the aid of the Hyperboreans against the elves at the history-altering battle on the shores of Lake Crimmormere more than three-and-a-half-thousand years ago, and the Krazzadaks were doubtless one of the mountain clans directly affected by the Great Betrayal at Hummaemidon a century later.

The Silverhelm had long maintained its underground halls and tunnels at the edges of the Stoneheart Valley and looked askance at the growing human population gathering below, but it was not until the coming of the Year of the Hard Cold, a bitter winter in the lowlands that coincided with the ice curse of the Shengotha Plateau, that the Silverhelms were moved to make contact. When in one fell night the Krazzadak capital at Bryn Tuk Thull and the Krazzadak king Thull XII were lost in the freezing invasion from beyond the bounds of the Material Plane known as the Curse of the Stoneheart on the lips of the surviving dwarves, the small Silverhelm Clan found itself cut off from its kin and with dwindling resources. The Silverhelms found themselves in a moment of crisis the next spring when famine swept through the lowlands and their halls alike but were shocked to find a line of wains left in the valley outside their halls, heavily laden with grain and foodstuffs to fend off their almost certain extinction. When the next year found a column of Silverhelm craftsmen tromping into the city to modernize its walls and canals, it ushered in the city’s golden age of construction.

The relationship between the city and the Silverhelm dwarves has remained cordial ever since, with a temple to Dwerfater being founded within the city and many of the clan actually relocating to the city itself to run profitable business interests there. For the first time in known history perhaps, dwarven bear riders strode peacefully among the streets and lanes of a lowlands city. However, recently the dwarves of the clan have shut their gates to the surface so that even their kin find themselves cut off from contact. It remains to be seen if the Silverhelms will emerge again from their tunnels and renew their days of celebrated partnership with Bard’s Gate.

Street Dwarves

The third type of dwarf to be found in Bard’s Gate are a relatively new addition to the city. The so-called street dwarves are immigrants from the distant human cities of Swordport and Hawkmoon. Descended from a portion of the scattered Great Mountain Clan Targ who settled in the lowland south of the Forlorn Mountains, these dwarves proved to be particularly adept merchants and traders among the lowland races. After a few centuries of such practices, they became a dwarven subtype unto themselves and a significant force in the economy of the Domain of Hawkmoon. With Bard’s Gate’s ever-expanding trade alliances and Hawkmoon’s own trade connections, it was only a matter of time before ships from the Moonsilver Sea landed in ports belonging to the City of the Lyre and dwarven traders from that southern land disembarked to conduct their business. Over time many of them stayed in Bard’s Gate as factors and negotiators for their own houses back in Hawkmoon until now a generation of street dwarves born as natives to Bard’s Gate is beginning to reach adulthood.

Street dwarves are of mountain dwarf stock and so are taller than their hill dwarf cousins, yet they are slimmer of frame than a typical mountain dwarf. Likewise their beards which grow in shades so dark as to be almost blue-black ranging to simply dark brown grow less thick and are typically cut shorter. While no self-respecting street dwarf would go clean-shaven, there are more than a few with a mere stubble on the jaw and more attention given to a luxurious handlebar moustache or set of sideburns. Most have eyes of blackest coal, though some bear a startling shade of blue with varieties of blue and gray between. These dwarves are also much more likely to favor a more human style of clothing with comfortable shoes and robes over the more rugged hob-nailed boots and leathers or mail of their mountain kin.

Elves

The elves encountered in Bard’s Gate are generally one of two different subtypes, high elves or wood elves, and sometimes of a third type — dark elves. All three types are described below.

Dark Elves (Drow)

The drow are not a welcome sight within Bard’s Gate and, in fact, are not typically seen. However, they bear mentioning because one infamous Red Blades assassin in the city is a drow (though he always works in disguise), and there are likely to be more here and there because of the proximity of the dark elf city of Thoth Kathalis that lies underneath the mountains of Mons Terminus. At least one avenue from that Under Realm city exits into the tunnels beneath Bard’s Gate with other points of access in the Stoneheart Forest and southern foothills of the valley. As a result, though far from common, the threat of drow infiltration is always present.

High Elves

Most elves encountered in and around Bard’s Gate are of the high elf variety, and of these most hail from the Forest Kingdoms to the east. They are of the ancient Valenthlis faction that made peace with the Hyperborean humans and turned the battle of Hummaemidon in their favor. As such they have historically been friendly with the humans of the region and have been at best a fast friend and at worst an indifferent neighbor for the entire history of the city. Since the founding of Bard’s College and enlightenment (in the elves’ minds) of the city, this relationship has leaned more on the side of friendly ally. Virtually every high elf encountered here is also a subject or vassal of the legendary elven kingdom of Parnuble, and all revere the beloved queen of that realm and will gladly rise to defend her honor. The elves of Parnuble are not a hot-headed bunch and will always seek to defuse a situation over a friendly drink or through calm discourse, but are not above drawing a blade in the name of their queen. Fortunately, because of the cosmopolitan nature of much of the city’s citizenry and the presence of so many of the fair folk, the people of Bard’s Gate are equally likely to hold the legendary elven queen in high regard and are unlikely to intentionally offer offense, siding with the elves in any altercation that erupts with visitors who would callously besmirch her name.

Wood Elves

There is probably no other place in all of Akados where a greater number of wood elves can be found walking the streets of a human city — much less one where blood isn’t actively being spilled. While the wood elves of Akados are less overtly hostile to humans than their wild elf cousins of the Green Realm to the west, these sylvan folk are nonetheless more prone to isolationism and insular defense of their territories than the high elves. There are many locations across Akados where human settlements and wood elf territories engage in a sort of low-grade conflict with occasional murders or atrocities committed by either side, but Bard’s Gate is fortunate to not be one of them. This is owed to the fact that the wood elves of the region are also all native to the Forest of Parna to the east and, if not outright subjects of the Queen of Parnuble, are at least vassals or her court. Her people’s friendship extends to the wood elves as well so that the natural tensions are eased and violence generally avoided. This is also assisted by the intervention of the Farseekers of Twilight who ensure that wood elven interests are protected in the city’s vicinity. Some particularly adventurous wood elves are even members of this group and occasionally make their homes in or near the city.

Half-Elves

Half-elves are largely accepted throughout the whole of Akados, but there is perhaps nowhere that they are truly embraced as much as the region of Bard’s Gate. For here they are celebrated not only by their human brethren as is done elsewhere throughout the whole of the old Kingdoms of Foere but also find true acceptance among their elven kin in the Forest Kingdoms and beyond. Even the wood elves of the Forest Kingdoms are more likely to hold a grudging admiration and possibly even affection for their mixed-blood kin, and nowhere else is one likely to find half-elves of wood elf descent as can sometimes be found in and around Bard’s Gate. The City of the Lyre and its traditions of tolerance and education is a perfect haven for such folk, and many mixed elf/human families can be found residing within the city and the Forest Kingdoms themselves. It is no coincidence that a great number of the city’s leaders, including the current High Burgess have been half-elven.

Half-Orcs

For a city as open and inviting as Bard’s Gate, it is no surprise that it is one of the few places where folk of orcish ancestry can gather and find welcome. As a result the city boasts a population of half-orcs rarely seen outside of places where foul tribes of orcs roam freely. The half-orcs of Bard’s Gate either do not conform to the evil ways of their orc forebears or keep such practices hidden away from the eyes of the city. As such, while some prejudice against those of orc blood does exist among the city’s populace, there is no natural distrust of the half-orcs who live there as inherently evil beings. In fact, half-orcs are eagerly welcomed as full members in certain of the guilds where their tendency to greater strength makes them especially suited for labor. In addition to the half-orcs who dwell in the city, a great number of the group known as the Wanderers are half-orcs as well.

Halflings

The presence of halflings is virtually ubiquitous throughout the whole of Akados — particularly in the lands of the old Kingdoms of Foere, and Bard’s Gate is no exception. In addition, the halflings of Bard’s Gate reach heights of influence and wealth not often achieved outside traditional halfling lands, with several guildmasters in the city’s history having been halflings as well as many prominent business owners in a tradition that continues to the present day. In fact, outside of the traditional halfling homeland of the Dale and the Low Country, there are few places that boast the number of halfling communities as are found scattered throughout the Plains of Mayfurrow. And while the halflings of Bard’s Gate enjoy the gentle living and comfortable communities so common to their kind, they also enjoy a certain amount of notoriety unseen elsewhere as some of the most prominent examples of their folk to be found in Bard’s Gate are also some of the most scandalous. The very public ongoing feud between the legendary halfling musician/tavernowner Malachi Hammelstein of Reme and the equally infamous halfling adventurer/tavernowner Helman Hillman brings no small amount of delight to the small folk of the city.

Other: GM's choice, from +1 to -3, based on their likelihood of changing the established order

Slaves: Slaves hold an interesting place in society. In Bard’s Gate, for example, where slavery is outlawed, there is still an underground market for slaves to be kidnapped and sold elsewhere. Slaves hold a social class in society separate from free people, as their WF is based on their master’s perceived value of them. Slaves forced to mine coal for their master’s foundries may live a subsistence lifestyle akin to one of the Homeless and are worked until they eventually drop dead from malnutrition, disease, and exhaustion. A eunuch tasked to guard an emperor’s harem may live an Upper Class lifestyle, provided with the finest of foods and softest of silken garments to wear. A slave tasked to carry documents safely across town and expected to return may dress and live in an Upper Middle Class lifestyle. Regardless, the slave lacks the one distinction that every other social class has, the dignity found with having one’s own freedom.

Homeless or Destitute: The Homeless or Destitute often sit so far below the rung of social status as to be deemed untouchable by those of the Upper Middle Class and beyond. The Homeless are often considered below the value of even slaves by some civilized cultures, frequently having the rights of its citizens, but lacking any of the means of claiming those rights from society. Beggars, the mentally ill, the handicapped, escaped slaves, street urchins, and foreign refugees frequently fall victim to the mean streets of the metropolis. Often, by accident or injury more than design, these folk become homeless. The Homeless and Destitute must frequently rely on the handouts and caregiving of others to eke out a subsistence level of survival. They are frequently sought out by acolytes of the “good” churches of Bard’s Gate, who administer what aid or alms they can.

The Homeless or Destitute may be found in slums, alleyways, abandoned lots, and city parks. They may occupy unused sections of the sewer and other places hidden by the glitz and wealth of ornate palaces and austere temples. Roughly 60% of the Homeless are mentally ill and in need of care, and 50% have some form of disease. They are often the first to succumb to a plague, and the last to receive medical attention. Most of the Homeless are commoners or low-level rogues. In rare instances (5% of the time), they may be a drug- or alcohol-addicted former adventurer or aristocrat who lost all their possessions through some misfortune.

The Homeless find the bare minimum of foodstuffs in order to survive. They often dine in trash heaps, spending what little coin they earn from begging to buy security from street gangs, or infrequently, purchasing alcohol or drugs to ease their suffering.

Impoverished: Like the Homeless, the Impoverished sit near the bottom of the social ladder. They may work occasionally at various odd jobs in order to feed themselves. The Impoverished frequently dwell in crowded tenements, and rely on church and community aid for support. Their neighborhoods are frequently overrun with street gangs, thugs, beggars, and petty thieves. What few possessions the Impoverished have they cherish, and these items are frequently targeted for theft. At this level of the social spectrum, the Impoverished may spend a great deal of time and effort avoiding becoming Homeless and forgotten.

Most of the Impoverished are commoners, rogues, or beggars. The Impoverished eat whatever thin, watery gruel they may get from meager soup kitchens, or dine on bread or possibly a hunk of mystery meat. “Oven Cakes” — which is a charred mixture of salt and flour painted onto the walls of brick ovens to keep them from burning the bread — are often left in baskets behind bakeries for the impoverished to dine upon.

Working Poor: The Working Poor are commoners who generally have some serviceable skill. They are mostly uneducated and often easily duped by politicians or con artists. They may be foreigners new to the city, or locals born into large families. The Working Poor have acquired enough knowledge of the local language and customs to find jobs picking vegetables, tending gardens, or doing the laundry of the wealthier members of society. Economic crisis and natural disasters commonly create situations that place the Working Poor into Impoverished or even Homeless situations. They are easy prey to thugs, gangs, and petty criminals who seek to gain from crime those things this class has worked so hard to earn by honest work. The Working Poor often reside in rundown apartments that are only a slight step-up from the flea-infested flophouses of their unemployed neighbors. Illiteracy is high among the working poor. Many work for meals and save some food to take back to their families.

Lower Class: The Lower Class is similar to the Working Poor in that they have jobs and a roof over their head. Neighborhood watchmen, mercenaries, trusted household servants, carpenters, butchers, masons, barbers, and barmaids generally live a Lower Class existence. They work long hours for low wages, but manage to maintain steady employment despite civil disturbances and natural disasters. They are street smart, despite a general lack of a formal education. Most members of the Lower Class are literate or semiliterate at minimum.

They are common targets of thieves and charlatans, as they are easy to intimidate, and naturally distrustful of guards and watchmen as they are all too familiar with corruption. Nearly every penny they make goes towards maintaining their lifestyle. First-level adventuring PCs and NPCs typically fall into the category of Lower Class, as do many commoners and low-level tradesmen.

Lower Middle Class: Members of the Lower Middle Class are better educated and more skilled than members of the other lower classes. They constantly strive for a better life for themselves. Many craftsmen who work for others or in the employ of merchants and nobles are derived from the Lower Middle Class. Many have a simple house, or share a larger home with their extended family. Most members of the various official city watch, fire, and sewer brigades are of this class. Some may be backup performers, dancers or other up-and-coming artisans. NPC classes generally range from level 2–3 commoners and warriors, though some may be level 1–2 experts. The Lower Middle Class has its share of thieves, conmen, and gamblers as well, but these unsavory sorts are frowned upon. Members of the Lower Middle Class are harder to intimidate and more likely to call for the constables if trouble breaks out.

Middle Class: The Middle Class is made up of highly skilled and motivated individuals who often own small businesses or hold important positions in larger ones. Owners of bakeries, seamstresses, brewers, smiths, and furniture crafters are examples of folk who make up the backbone of the Middle Class. Most members of the Middle Class are of tradesman or experts of levels 1–4, and may include various retired PC classes or performers and rogues with a story to tell and ocean-front property to sell.

Upper Middle Class: The Upper Middle Class is made up of persons who have not quite yet acquired the wealth needed to move up into the upper echelons of high society. They may be skilled guildsmen and members of professional organizations with strong business and networking abilities. They are well educated, and see that their children are also well educated. The Upper Middle Class often has a certain disdain for the lower classes of society, as they assume everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success. Most members of the Upper Class own their own business or are involved in lucrative partnerships. Their dwelling and accommodations are often attached to their place of business. They typically run family-owned operations, but are known to employ 1 or 2 members of the Lower Middle Class in their business. Artisans, private contractors, builders, watch captains, skilled wizards, semi-accomplished musicians, performers, and actors make up much of the Upper Middle Class.

Upper Class: The Upper Class is made up of individuals who have attained a modest amount of wealth and status. Aldermen, mid-level clerics of major temples, wizards with their own towers and apprentices, highly successful bards, jewelers, shipping magnates, builders, lawyers, physicians, and guild masters typically make up the Upper Class. Many have self-made fortunes, and are newly wealthy; others have inherited small sums from wealthy relatives.

Members of the Upper Class are well-treated and well-respected, often given the same preferential treatment Aristocrats and Nobles receive. They do not, however, own any title other than professional titles earned from guild alliances or being at the top of their vocation. Masterwork quality arms and armaments are often made by highly skilled members of the Upper Class, as are potions and many of the more complex magical items. These items fetch large prices in the market, and make their creators very wealthy.

Upper Class social cliques are often organized by a complex family structure, with a patron or matron in charge of the doings of lesser members of the family. These elders are the ones in charge of arranging marriages, signing business ventures, and meeting with members of the aristocracy or nobility with whom they find themselves politically and financially aligned. In general, nothing in an Upper Class family is done without the permission of the family elder, unless some kind of “family coup” is afoot. Family members or staff that cross an elder are almost assuredly disowned, and find themselves cast from the ranks of the Upper Class, regardless of any personal wealth or wherewithal.

Members of the Upper Class often employ members of the lower classes as workers, laborers, guards, and managers of their various properties. They may own theaters or popular taverns, thus having some degree of control over culture and high art.

Successful PCs may suddenly find themselves host and party to the Upper Class, due to their ability to gain vast fortunes and their mastery at defeating dangers that “civilized” folk would rather hear stories about. As they are not titled with noble sanction or documents, they may more frequently be the target of burglars and hold-up men seeking to lighten the weight of their purse.

Celebrity: Celebrity is a special status found through a combination of Upper Class attention and broad Middle and Lower Class appeal. Great heroes often become celebrities whether or not they sought fame and fortune. Wealthy PCs may find themselves gaining Celebrity status. Equally, powerful wizards, master thieves, and bone-crunching barbarians can end up in the Celebrity spotlight. Artists with unsurpassed skill such as painters and sculptors may also gain the Celebrity status. Musicians, dancers, actors, and other sub-genres of the bard class actually seek out Celebrity status and do anything and everything in their power to retain that status throughout the course of their career and beyond. Becoming a Celebrity often requires a great amount of hard work, skill, and raw talent…and no small amount of luck. A disproportionate number of those who have Celebrity and those who seek Celebrity give devotion to Tykee, Goddess of Luck and Good Fortune.

Maintaining Celebrity status may require lavish expenditures of wealth in order to keep up appearances at important social functions. For example, a highly-skilled bard, renowned for his ability to perform the lead in a production of “The Lord of the Marches,” may have to spend vast sums of money to commission the writing of a script that outdoes their last public performance. Likewise, a hero who buys a round of drinks for the house may be considered a “great guy” by every patron who was present that particular evening.

Despite their dubious expenses, Celebrities who are in public favor often find that “their money is no good” at certain venues, and equipment may be found at a reduced price. An armorer with a newly designed breastplate may want the local hero to wear their armor in battle so he may advertise the Celebrity’s use of their equipment at his shop. “Deagon Carl the Destroyer wore my breastplate against Vlada the Bold, when he defeated him in personal combat and was unscathed!”

Celebrity status may be gained overnight, but can be just as easily lost (or even more so!), as the tastes of the public are ever-changing. Patronage of Aristocrats and Nobles may be fickle at best, and should the Celebrity fail to perform up to par, the bluebloods assuredly turn to a new flavor of the month for their entertainment. The pressures of fame may be great, as Celebrities are often hounded by adoring fans who wish to get a bit of their luck or merely bask in their presence. Celebrities that turns on their fans may soon find themselves in the poorhouse. Celebrities gain an automatic –5 circumstance penalty on Disguise checks they attempt while still within this social class, as they are easily recognizable by almost everyone.

Aristocracy: Aristocrats are often referred to as landed gentry. They are a form of lesser nobility who often owe their ultimate allegiance to a powerful noble, but are nowhere near the blood line to assume the throne of a kingdom. These powerful families and individuals make up the ranks of courtiers and persons of influence. They may be politicians such as senators or City Council members with ties to both the Upper Class and Nobility. What sets the Aristocracy apart from the Upper Class is possession of valuable land assets granted to them in the form of a hereditary title by Nobility. Most aristocrats are born to this old wealth and title. Hereditary titles that may be granted by Nobility may include knights, esquires, viscounts and baronet. Aristocrats have a family crest, granted to them or their forebear by the high Nobility. The family crest contains standards and devices which describe their station and include the device of the noble whom they ultimately serve.

Aristocrats are more highly educated than the common masses, having had private tutoring throughout their childhood. Aristocrats generally inhabit large private estates, or split time between their hereditary holdings and manor houses in the more populous cities. The majority of members of the aristocracy are drawn from NPC classes. Like the Upper Class, aristocrats are most commonly a family organization with an elder who bears the official title, such as “Her Baroness Bain of Westerly.”

Aristocrats surround themselves with henchmen, and are personally responsible for the well-being of possibly hundreds of other lesser folk further down the social ladder, ranging from Upper Class merchants to Lower Class fruit-pickers that work their farms and vineyards. A portion of the Aristocrat’s wealth and living expenses goes directly to the noble family who granted their title. Failure to provide this tithe to their liege lord may result in the stripping of family title and quite possibly death.

PC classes may find themselves granted land and a lesser hereditary title by a noble, thus giving them the same social status as a “true” Aristocrat, without the need for taking on the NPC class. Such grants of land and title are very rare, however, and often require an individual to single-handedly save the kingdom from destruction. Examples of this include; fighters being granted the title of baron, paladins being titled Lord Champion of the Crown, or trusted wizards being given the title of Grand Prestidigitator to the House of Izun. In Bard’s Gate perhaps the longest running holder of this social status is the retired adventurer and legendary playboy, Helman the Halfling.

Aristocrats think nothing of dropping 100 gp per day for the finest dining experience, or catering sumptuous dinners for their families and guests. That is, they think nothing of it until they run out of money, and have to start selling or leasing property.

In Bard’s Gate the aristocracy is a bit different because it is a free city that owes allegiance to no sovereign and is governed entirely by elected officials between the Council of Burghers and the Office of the High Burgess. In states that are vassals to Bard’s Gate’s suzerainty there can be true aristocrats, because Bard’s Gate does not reorganize the existing feudal social structures that may already exist, however, any rank or title they possess abroad carries no weight in Bard’s Gate itself beyond the coin it commands. In Bard’s Gate the only thing that would compare to a true aristocracy are the knights who serve the city and are granted lands and pension for their service, but these grants are in no ways large estates to rival that of aristocracy elsewhere. However, the Aristocracy class does exist in Bard’s Gate in the form of the most powerful of the wealthy, the men and women who not only have wealth but also sit in positions of influence and have the ability to affect government policy. The burghers of most of the Guilds would fall into this class, as would the highest ranking among the military leaders and the heads of most of the churches. The Chancellor of Bard’s College is without a doubt a member of the Aristocracy as are the shipping magnates and most of the major landholders in the Lyre Valley who own the largest vineyards, ranches, and mines.

Nobility: Members of true Nobility outrank every other member of society (and are outside the basic reach of player characters, although a combination of wealth, race, and certain classes may afford someone a similar social position). They are the elite of the ruling class, often having ancient holdings and wealth which cannot truly be eliminated. Aristocrats and other members of the Upper Class ultimately owe their allegiance to the members of Nobility. Nobles may be as lowly as a count (in charge of a county), a duke (royal military commander), or as esteemed as a prince, or reigning monarch or emperor. Nobles command vast tracts of land, and may grant lesser titles in relation to their own provincial power and authority. Their spending is extravagant, but also takes into account their vast wealth and the number of servants, henchmen and vassals for whom they provide.

It is possible for a member of the Upper Class or aristocracy to actually have more wealth than a member of Nobility. What the Aristocrats and Upper Class lack that a noble has, however, is a direct bloodline to the ruler, and the sworn allegiance of hundreds and possibly hundreds of thousands of subjects.

Ruling members of a church have the same social class distinction as Nobility, as do archmages and sorcerers of great power. Their ability to wield powerful magic or call down the wrath of a god places them at the level of Nobility.

As with the Aristocracy, Nobility has the same issues in Bard’s Gate — namely that there aren’t any. Sure, there are many folk living in Bard’s Gate who possess royal blood or lands and titles of nobility but only for some land from which they have come. In Bard’s Gate their noble blood counts no more than the wealth they command. In fact, with the wealthy elite already claiming the role of the Aristocracy within the city, it would seem difficult to differentiate between them and some still-higher social class. Yet, surprisingly, it’s not. It would probably be more accurate to refer to this ruling elite in Bard’s Gate as the Plutocracy rather than Nobility, for it is indeed their great wealth that makes their political connections a high step above their would-be peers, or their political connections that makes their great wealth stand out. Either way, these are truly the elite of the elite, the ones that when they make some sort of public statement the Lyre Valley Press will run with it as its headline the next day. Examples of this group (which is really not much more than a score in number) are only the most influential politicians, the heads of the largest temples, the richest of burghers, and the most powerful of archmages. Nobles dine only on the finest of foods and drink the finest of wines.