I literally made this up today as part of a questionnaire given to the table by the GM to expound upon our backstories... I literally had no previous knowledge of Fluorite or Skeletal Fluorosis or Luciferase Algae... I was today years old when I wrote this and did the necessary research on my lunch break:
I am Vash, a Noble Drow Arcane Duelist Bard, in this particular campaign, for reference.
Think of Chymdyr as London in the 1800's, just underground, and a slight Bioshock/steampunk-ish vibe.
Like London, a great river runs through the city, dividing it into island boroughs, separating it into various and unique quadrants.
This city would exist in total darkness if it wasn't for a blue glow coming from the very waters of this expansive river. The River of the Damned.
The rocks here are rich with metallic ores, mainly silver and copper, and veins of coal... all of which contain large amounts of fluorite that the subterranean river leeches from the rock. Fluorite deposits on the riverbed glow with a blue-violet fluorescence, which is magnified by large amounts of bioluminescent luciferase algae that thrive on the fluorite concentrations.
These luciferase algae are collected in glass jars, and are used to illuminate much of the indoor spaces within the city... making the soft blue-violet light inescapable whether indoors or outdoors. The algae lamps are more decorative in the homes and buildings of the noble class. Nobility has access to whatever sources of illumination they desire.
The River of the Damned is woefully poisonous and corrosive on its own, and made even worse by the unfettered dumping of industrial waste from the mines and smelting plants. Many/most of the peasant class suffer from skeletal fluorosis, and don't last long in the strenuous conditions that exist within the mines and factories.
To prolong the labor force, Chymdyr has turned to the dark practices of fleshwarping. The Alchemists of Chymdyr have found that its brackish waters are not just perfectly suited for their dark concoctions but also magnified the potency of their evil elixirs.
Chymdyr has an unusually high proportion of Driders in juxtapose to other Drow cities of similar size. And the Driders of Chymdyr are eerily skeletal, covered in spurs made of splintered bone. An interesting side effect of fleshwarping Drow afflicted with skeletal fluorosis.
The size and stature of the Driders make them more capable of surviving in the deep, damp mines. The fluorite-rich water here is especially toxic to Goblins, which make up the majority of the slave population in Chymdyr. Thus, the Driders do any of the work where there might be water in the mines... moving ore and rubble to living conveyor belts of lined up Goblins.
The Driders keep the Goblins in line... Osyluths keep the Driders in line. The presence of Bone Devils in Chymdyr is almost ironic.
The queen of Chymdyr is a long-standing con. A Noble Drow born to a common family, she has literally murdered her way to the top, in true Drow fashion. She embodies the very nature of the Drow, but her humble start has robbed her of practiced power...
Vash's mother, Quarra Tormte (of House Torment), is absolutely privileged to the Queen's origins... and she is making the necessary moves to undermine the queen, in a truly Drow vie for power. It is completely possible that Quarra (Vash's mother) can abuse her position as a Crown Court Judge, to make a legitimate push for the throne.
Even though Quarra was the very judge to sentence her warrior hero husband, Mournar Zaphra, to the mines for disrespecting his superiors (he asked for a promotion/raise)...
She is THE law of Chymdyr, and she shows NO favor...
The forsaken Driders in the mines, both male and female, have a 10% chance to advance as the Adept NPC class.
Redeemed Female Driders are given 6 levels of Oracle to reflect being sent to a superfluity of Drow "nuns" to relearn their behaviors... after 6 levels of Oracle, they are CR10 Drider Priestesses. Should they continue, they follow the Mystic Theurge prestige class, becoming Drider Savants. Each level of Oracle and every level of Mystic Theurge is worth +1/2 CR.
Redeemed Male Driders are given levels in Bloodrager, no prestige class, all Bloodrager... each level of Bloodrager increases the CR by an equal amount.
Vash's father, the great Mournar, is now a Drider (earning Bloodrager levels), and his mother, Quarra Tormte, is literally the second most influential person in Chymdyr.
She is secretly working with her husband and the rest of the Driders to gain control of the city... her biggest obstacle is recruiting the Alchemist that have sold their souls to the Bone Devils...
This is a deeply seeded plot, that has been in the works for well over 50 years. Quarra is patient and cunning, absolutely not to be underestimated. Her ability to play the long game is unparalleled, even in Drow culture...
Quarra's mastery of plot and planning is why Vash has lived in constant paranoia for the past ~100 years... yet she obviously has bigger fish to fry.
Quarra's ambitions include complete assimilation of the Alchemist of Chymdyr and their contracts with their Bone Devils... she wants to use Chymdyr's industry to fund an army of Driders (fleshwarped by Chymdyr's Alchemists) to eventually breech the surface. Quarra's ambitions are large, to say the least...
.......................................
Suggestions?
Thoughts?
Critique?
Fluorescence merely rereleases light that the material has been exposed to previously, it doesn't generate it in the first place. You'd need periodic bright light to get an eerie glow from the river the rest of the time.
But yeah, it gives the GM hooks to work with if they want, without requiring them to do such work given that Vash's home city could be out of sight and out of mind.
From my research, today, Fluorite is all the types of fluorescence...
Phosphorescence, thermoluminescence, and triboluminescence...
It stores and reflects ambient lighting, changes in temperature create light, and the pressure/weight/flow of the water, itself, produces light...
I absolutely made up the connection between Luciferase Algae and Fluorite, although further research could potentially provide a legitimate connection...