1. Iven’s Livery Stable: Most travelers visiting town leave their mounts and pack animals in the care of Iven Lesky , a retired tracker who chose to settle in Torch after falling in love with a young Kellid woman named Annika whom he met when her tribe was overwhelmed by hill giants. Together, they buy and sell horses, doing frequent business with trade caravans drawn to the town’s marketplace.
2. General Store:: Torch’s general store caters to scavengers, artisans, and metalworkers first and foremost, but also carries plenty of gear sought by adventurers traveling through Numeria. The town’s unique forge attracts plenty of traders to the local marketplace, some of whom bring rare items which storeowners like Inkrit Kollisun uses to stock their shelves. Most of the routine adventuring gear listed in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can be found here, but Inkrit leaves the sale of armor and weapons to the guildhouse artisans (see area 21).
3. Silverdisk Hall: This busy gambling house features many card tables and dice games, all played with the local silverdisk currency in exchange for whatever money travelers bring with them. Proprietor Garmen Ulreth runs the place, and is not-so-secretly assisted by a gang of Kellid thieves known as the Ropefists—a name derived from their practice of wrapping their knuckles with rope before using their fists to punish transgressors.
4. The Marrymaid: Given the frequent influxes of fortune-seeking scavengers and merchant caravans, the Marrymaid bordello opened its doors almost as soon as Torch established a successful economy. Wrennie Dalrorn oversees the entertainments inside.
5. The Copper Coin: One of the oldest taverns in Torch, the Copper Coin stands right on the western edge of town. This fixture nightspot fills up with patrons almost every evening, and it is especially popular with laborers and artisans looking to relax after a hard day’s work. Siblings Lawton and Katina Rimos run the Coin as a quality establishment with good food at reasonable prices.
6. Garrison and Armory: A crenelated 30-foot tower rises from this squat barracks housing the town’s active militia and guards. Approximately two dozen off-duty guards can be found here, with three times that number patrolling the marketplace and city streets during the day. The connecting armory holds a selection of simple arms and armor for outfitting these conscripts, including crossbows, bolts, spears, and short swords, as well as a few suits of leather armor, chain shirts, and light steel shields.
7. Olandir Estate: Serantha Olandir, the charismatic, influential leader of Torch’s town council, lives in this large home. She lost her husband 2 years ago to a back alley mugging by the Ropefists near Silverdisk Hall (see area 3). Since then, she’s made it her mission to ensure Torch doesn’t become a den of crime and corruption by taking a more direct hand in shaping its politics
8. Otterbie Manor: One of the original founding families of Torch owns this expensive manor, built by an enterprising merchant and ex-crusader from Mendev named Orm Otterbie. He passed away several years ago and his granddaughter, Bazlundi Otterbie, inherited his legacy, successfully organizing many of the town’s artisans and smithies into a powerhouse consortium. By controlling access to their services and coordinating a communal profit-sharing scheme between them, the Otterbies have become one of the more successful families in town.
9. Weeping Pond: This placid-looking pond is set off from the surrounding area by a crescent-shaped escarpment. No vegetation grows on the banks of this pond, and the waters carry a bitter stink of sulfur and other chemicals, enough to make the eyes water after spending too much time on the shore.
10. Crowfeather Palace: The contaminated waters running from the Weeping Pond collect in Crowfeather Lake. Here the taint diffuses to the point where the water becomes drinkable, though it retains a brackish aftertaste. Until recently, long exposure to the water could still cause birth defects and strange afflictions, but since the creation of the strange-looking building here, these effects have been all but eradicated. Called Crowfeather Palace because of its proximity to the lake and its almost miniaturized palatial facade, the building is the brainchild of Khonnir Baine. With the aid of the local priesthood of Brigh, Khonnir built this facility to help purify the waters of Crowfeather Lake. Utilizing a combination of divine and arcane magic with scavenged technological elements, a pipe-like extension from the building constantly purifies the waters around itself, giving the townsfolk a safe source of drinking water.
11. Market Square: The southern shore of Crowfeather Lake is the location of Torch’s largest marketplace. This location draws nearly as much attention and tourism as does the flame, for it’s here that the town’s skilled artisans put their wares on display.
12. Foundry Tavern: One of the more popular hangouts in Torch, the Foundry Tavern is aptly named. Its owner, Khonnir Baine, makes frequent appearances to demonstrate new inventions here—whether mechanical or magical. The tavern itself is always packed, and Khonnir rents out space in his neighboring foundry for visiting smiths and metalworkers to use.
13. Tempting Tonics: This building is home to Jhestine Imierin, the town’s apothecary and healer. She moved south during a particularly harsh winter and opened her apothecary shop to help the people of Torch deal with the tainted water from the Weeping Pond. Jhestine sells a variety of herbs and special substances, and now that Crowfeather Palace has made the waters of the lake drinkable, she’s been able to turn her attention away from her original purpose to crafting all manner of other potions and elixirs for sale.
14. Seven Tears Farms: Fertile fields and orchards line the stream near the southern side of town here. Before Crowfeather Palace, these farms had to rely upon the generosity of local churches for water purification, but now the fields are flourishing. The produce grown here feeds most of Torch, thanks to the owner of the farms, a matronly woman named Celda Veed.
15. Town Hall: One of the grander buildings in Torch, the town hall doubles as a second garrison and lookout tower watching over the eastern roads. Council meetings take place in the hall every week on Oathday, but the hall sees frequent use for social gatherings as well, including many dances held in the neighboring square.
16. Chapel of the Wanderer: A somber man named Mylan Radli retired here after the town’s previous gravekeeper passed away. Along with the blessings he administers to those passing through Torch, he also conducts funerals and looks after the town’s cemetery.
17. Temple of Brigh: Bronze wind chimes and clockwork statues decorate the domed portico of this compound dedicated to the goddess of invention. The oldest faith in Torch, Brigh’s temple sees regular worship from many of the town’s citizens, and also includes a meticulously organized workshop managed by the town’s religious leader, Joram Kyte. His friendly demeanor, active interest in the metal trade, and innovative crafting skills helped land him a seat on the town council many years ago. Joram’s temple includes a small shopfront selling magic items and gear
18. Evercandle Inn: The name of this establishment refers to the strange alchemical candles used to light its rooms. These showpieces, which never diminish, are arrayed among multiple chandeliers in the common room as well as smaller, portable candlesticks by each bed in the individual chambers. Soceal Murgrave serves as the inn’s proprietor, aided by her ever-present attendant Erlmon Reverstoudt.
19. Boarding House: The nine buildings surrounding this small park provide temporary housing for larger parties not wishing to stay at the more expensive inns in town. They see frequent use during the warmer seasons when their owner, Agren Maust rents out rooms to scavengers, adventurers, and merchants seeking to do business in Torch for weeks at a time.
20. Warehouse District: The majority of the buildings in the northeast portion of town act as storehouses for trade goods designed by the town’s artisans.
21. Torch Guildhouse: This large building is home to the guild of metallurgists and artisans established by Bazlundi Otterbie. The guild was founded to support craftspeople in the skymetal trade, and the experts under its banner include several skilled armorers, blacksmiths, and weaponsmiths.
22. Dolga’s Foundry: The sounds of ringing hammers and dwarven songs frequently rise from this busy foundry, which is owned and operated by Dolga Feddert and her team of veteran crafters. An odd transplant from the Five Kings Mountains, Dolga helped found Torch and became the first to test the unique properties of the f lame erupting from the hilltop. She also constructed many of the first buildings in town, and is Torch’s oldest councilor.
23. Junkyard: Unprofitable components and debris smelted for skymetal invariably find their way to Torch’s junkyard on the east side of town. An eerie bleachling gnome named Garritt Burrwaddle received the honorary title of Junkmaster after several decades of obsessively collecting and cataloging the items left here. Aside from hauling away junk no one wants, he provides an invaluable service to those searching for spare parts among the debris in his care.
24. Black Hill: Easily the most recognizable landmark in Torch, this bald escarpment rises at a steep slope in the middle of town. Until recently, the town’s namesake torch burned at the hill’s peak, emerging from a 5-foot-wide hole in the ground. Today, the flame is out, the hole caved in and filled with bubbling, foul-smelling sludge. The four specially-designed adamantine carts used to ferry ore to and from the fire now stand a short distance down the hill near the Black Hill Craneworks—a building run by Smeltrunner Oskah Unteret. She coordinates access to the flame and ensures merchants pay the appropriate tribute to the town’s treasury. She bears no love for the Technic League, but holds the Black Sovereign in high regard, and loudly shares tales of his uniting of Numeria’s tribes in every tavern she visits.
