Origins: Grasslands of Merakai – Dresan, the Capital

Continuation of my Origins series, as detailed previously. -Mark

Dresan

Dresan is the capital of the Grasslands of Merakai. It holds the king of this province, the head of the royal church and the school of the mages. It is a very large city with over 500 buildings encompassed within its walls. Most everything can be purchased in Dresan at approximately book price.

Dresan is by far the largest city of the Grasslands and is home to the majority of the people in the area. It is positioned on the East and West Fork of the Thornbrush River where they come together. The city is spread across all three natural divisions and the culture of each section is separated from the others by the size of the river.

The middle sector is the old city. This portion is completely surrounded by 40′ tall wall. Access is permitted only during the day and visitors without night passes from the various organisations are escorted out of Mid-City at dusk. The royal family, the royal church, the high magus: all reside in Mid-City.

The left bank of the western fork is home to the humanoids who are not “civilised” races. Yes, that’s right, you can find everything, from goblins to orcs to hobgoblins to ogres to half-ogres to even a few hill giants in that sector of the city. These chaotic races control the western bank so it is understandable that it is dangerous for humans and demi-humans to visit that sector, especially at night.

The right bank is the home to the civilised races. They try to keep the other races on the western bank. Here is the area where most PC’s will visit and reside when they are not out adventuring.

Mid-City

Dresan is still a very chaotic city where things unknown to civilised races take place commonly. The only region that is under control of the law abiding portion of the population is Mid-City. It is not really in control of the city but is instead a fortress of law within an otherwise chaotic hell. The Mid-city residents believe in protecting themselves in order to advance the laws. They do not allow any non-resident into Mid-city with out a pass. The pass is only obtainable within Mid-city unless it is applied for in writing which can take up to 8 weeks to process. Many lawful mages have made homes within Mid-city and the larger temples all have buildings there also. These “law abiders” are currently trying to impose their beliefs upon the other sectors of Dresan but have not been very successful.

The Western Sector

The western portion of the capital city is by far the roughest area within the city borders. Humanoids of all races are commonplace here with hobgoblins and goblins running rampant in the streets. The only law here is survival of the fittest. Only PC’s with substantial power (or a death wish) go here. The Western Sector is home to corruption and the outright influences of chaos. The area is extremely dangerous during the day but becomes the pits of hell during the night hours. Assassins walk the streets looking for people with a few gold to steal. For every 10 minutes on the street at night, there is a 20% chance that someone is pick pocketed. During the day, this chance is only 10%. Killing and murder is a normality. A murder occurs about once every five minutes in this sector.

The Eastern Sector

The eastern part of Dresan is intermediate between Mid-city and the western third. It is home to the majority of the middle class and to the larger share of the wharfs and shipping industry. People who do not share the beliefs of the Mid-city residents but want to remain fairly secure in their homes tend to settle here. Small temples abound in this section with deities of every origin. If the god has been mentioned in history, there is probably some place of worship within this sector.

Crime is at a much lower rate here. This decline is mostly due to the faction of red-robed mages who have a guild here. They tend to keep things pretty much under control so they can continue their research in relative peace. Irregular patrols are also part of the eastern section with the chance of seeing one at about 25% per hour. However, the patrols have no formal routes and areas of patrol are completely random. The middle class business men abound here also. Most of the supply shops for adventurers lie in this area including armourers, weaponsmiths, alchemist, general goods and almost anything else the average person would need.

In addition, the “head offices” of the Dresan thief’s guild are in the Eastern Sector. Various fronts are actually outlets of the guilds and contacts are fairly easy to obtain. The Eastern Sector is truly the commerce portion of Dresan and is the common place for PC groups to base from. A variety of inns and taverns are available.

Interaction between the Sectors of Dresan

Movement between the various sections of Dresan is relatively easy. There are numerous ferry operators along the shores of the Thornbrush River. The charge is generally 2 silvers per person and 5 per horse to travel between the Eastern and Western Sector. If one wants to go from a lower portion of Dresan up to Mid-city, the price ranges up to 2000% of normal rates. Only a few ferrymen
operate from the shores of Mid-city and they also charge outrageous prices to take people from Mid-city to the lower shores.

Unfortunately, there are currently no bridges between the various sectors of Dresan due to the size of the Thornbrush. Within each sector, walking or riding are the most common modes of transportation, although in the Eastern Sector and in Mid-city, carriages are available for special travel circumstances.

Trade is a popular business within Dresan’s lower two sections. Commerce of all kinds takes place between these two potions of the city. Mid-city rarely imports anything and when they do it comes from the eastern half of Dresan. Mid-city has never been reported to export anything to the lower class residents of the town. Western Dresan is the entry point for raw materials. Miners and such bring their goods to Dresan from the Barrier mountains and usually stop in the Western Sector for a drink. Bars frequently trade credit for the materials and then sell these supplies to the craftsmen of the Eastern Section. Eastern Dresan trades finished goods to the folk on the western bank and usually is the importer of the food stuffs from the farmers on the plains. This food is then distributed with the low quality produce ending up in cheap inns on the western side.

Buildings and Streets of Dresan

Most of the buildings in Dresan are made of wood as it is less expensive to have transported the great distances to Dresan from the source. More expensive buildings (eg Mid-city) are made of stone but these are rare occasions. To build a stone structure in Dresan requires that the rock be carted all the way from the Barrier Mountains. This is at least a 3 day journey one way and the Grasslands are no place for those weak souls to be traveling. However, some stone is always available and more foolish merchants are gathering it all the time.

The streets of Dresan are narrow and wind around quite a bit. Most of the streets in the lower sections of Dresan are unpaved (not cobbled) except for some of the more major travel paths and the open market squares. The streets of Mid-City are all cobbled and are quickly repaired if any damage occurs. The Mid-city streets are fairly straight and more organised. Mid-city is of newer construction and was planned instead of just growing haphazardly.

All of the standard races can be found in Dresan though some are very rare indeed. Most races that are generally looked down upon face the same fate except in the Western sector where anything and anyone are tolerated. Even the humanoid races are allowed within the western section.

The Sewers and Underground Systems beneath Dresan

As mentioned before, the only sector which has a well developed sewer/runoff system is Mid-City. The other two portions of the city have incomplete portions of waste drainage. The Mid-city system is a nicely ordered network of tunnels which have been etched into the earth below that connect and which eventually end up in the Thornbrush river. Luckily with Dresan being so close to the river, there is bedrock within a reasonable distance below the surface (i.e. about 10-20 feet).

The Eastern and Western Sector’s drainage system is a chaotic mass of tunnels which can connect and other times do not. Whereas the Mid-city system was constructed for the transportation of water, many of the tunnels in the other two sectors were designed and built for individuals, most of which was to move from point A to B without being seen.

Mid-City Underground

The drainage system in this sector is roughly two different systems. There is the early system which is complimentary to the Eastern and Western Sector’s current systems. It is pretty much blocked off or limited in its pathways now as the newer system took precedence over the old jumbled lot of tunnels.

The New System (NS) was designed by the Mid-city Drainage Authority on Waste Water and Materials Removal. It was thoroughly planned and evaluated and reevaluated before it was put into effect. The tunnels are of uniform size and generally do not vary much from tunnel to tunnel. All tunnels run parallel to streets making a wonderfully geometric matrix. NS uses Drainage Shafts (DS’s) to lower the water from street level down to the Carrying Pipes (CP’s) which are in the bedrock. The CP’s are eight feet in diameter while the DS’s are 2.5′ in diameter. DS’s appear at every street corner on opposite diagonal sides (two per intersection). The CP’s carry the wastes down to the river where they open into Outlet Grates (OG’s). The grates are 12′ x 8′ and are composed of a grid of bars space twelve inches apart both horizontally and vertically. The system is also equipped with a Flush Function which can be used if rainfall is short and the wastes begin the stagnate below the city streets. All this amounts to is that water is diverted from the river to a large basin. This water is then released into the center of the system and flushes the wastes into the river.

The Eastern and Western Sector Underground

The underground of these two sectors are just the opposite of the Mid-city system. They are a mis-match of every size and combination of drainage types in the known world. Since there is no government authority to build the system in these two portions of Dresan, the only ones that are built are by private citizens for their own use or purpose. “Get it out of my backyard” or “I need to get to point B without being seen” are two of the most common reasons for underground systems in the Eastern and Western Sectors. The size of the systems ranges from one or two tunnels to a massive complex beneath an inn or merchant’s place which is actually a cover for some guild’s operations.

Nothing is specific about the underground in these two areas, it changes as quickly as the setting above it and is modified to suit the present owners needs. The tunnels and networks are laced with secret doors, secret stairs, secret traps, secret surface entrances, and other various secret passage ways. There are many residents that operate solely from these networks. Use your imagination with this area. Put a network in place to enhance some mission, then, if the PC’s insist on going back but you don’t want to deal with it, say the entrance has been sealed by some unknown person.

The Library of Dresan

The library of Dresan is located in Mid-city. It is housed in a relatively small complex within the larger frame of Mid-city. It lies almost directly in the center of that sector. The library is actually not just one building but is a small walled complex. It has seven buildings all of which are stone. The walls around the complex are 25′ tall with battlements. Armed guards walk the walls 24 hours a day. The gate is doubly reinforced by both armed guards and mages and is composed of a portuclis and a banded wooden gate. Only persons of high authority within Mid-city can access the library or give limited time passes to use it.

The Seven Factions

The seven buildings each house a different area of material. The buildings range in size according to the importance of the material, how much there is, and similar criteria. The Orders are:

1. The Library of Magic and Mages
2. The Library of Alchemy
3. The Library of Wars, Warriors, and Tactics
4. The Library of Politics
5. The Library of Music
6. The Library of History
7. The Library of Religions

Side note: the libraries do not contain specific information directly important to PC’s, i.e. the library of magic does not have spellbooks lying around. Instead it has tomes describing a mage, his feats, and his abilities. There are some exceptions to this rule but this holds true for most of the areas. Specific clues can be found in the library but due to the volume of information contained in many different languages and forms, it could take a month to find a single bit of information on something.

The Library of Magic and Mages

This is a primary faction of the complex. The building is 3 stories high and also has a basement. The basement is an archive area where copying of almost illegible records takes place. Indexing of the materials is also a main function here as is cleaning of records. The basement is off limits to everyone but library staff. The first level is where the indexes of materials sits and the most commonly used materials. The indexes are complete but the system is very complicated. To find a particular item usually requires the assistance of a librarian and the cost of their time is very high. The second floor contains materials which fall into the category of bound tomes and works. There are no loose-leaf type materials on this floor. Those type of information sources areall on the third floor.

The materials contained in this library are specific in nature. They tend to focus on what, how, or who. That is works are usually on one person and what he was, how he became that, and what his specialities were. Item materials contain information on who made it, what it did, and if it is still available. Spell descriptions are just that– they describe the spell, the effect, the components needed and who invented the spell. However, there are very few references as to the spell itself (language, intonation, movements, etc.). PC’s could find out who had the spell and some obscure references to where it might be found but nothing as to the specifics. Also remember finding anything in the library is difficult at best.

The Library of Alchemy

This Section of the library is much like the first. It gives a lot of who did what and when but not a lot of how. However, there are more direct references to methods in this book for basic procedures such as the concoction of low strength herbal healing potions. Herbalism overall is a large topic in this field.

Tags: Grasslands of Merakai, Origins, Setting