Introduction & Overview

If Gandahar is a city of anything, it is a city of Abundance. Put together by the community of /r/DnDBehindTheScreen, this metropolis is full of intrigue, crime, locations, magic, scholarship, shops, NPCs, plot hooks, and more. While there are some places that still have gaps, this publication should serve as a solid starting point for building up any city if you don't want to use it as-is. Some of these gaps are due to a submission being deleted by the user before they could be included, and other gaps are simply because nobody created something to fill it. Unfortunately, because this is a volunteer effort, these gaps will remain.

Also, during the compilation process, virtually all of the entries were edited in some way - from simple adjustments in grammar and syntax to cutting sections that weren't particularly relevant for the bigger picture. In each case, edits were made with the goal of staying true to the spirit of the original post. If you recognize your post and feel that it has changed enough to be untrue to your original vision, please message /u/pfenixartwork with your concerns.

Likewise, we attempted to be as thorough as possible and include all the posts that were made. If you don't see your post included, please also message /u/pfenixartwork to make sure it gets added!

The Outer City

Making up the majority of the eastern area just outside the city wall proper and near the harbor, The Outer City is a dingy, dark, and often dangerous location. It is primarily populated by those of ill-repute or even some monstrous heritage, and most places in The Outer City aren't even patrolled by the City Watch. As such, this district isn't a place to find a friendly face or a welcoming shelter; it's a cutthroat area that is run by the seedy underbelly of Gandahar.

The Purple Cloud

Along the outskirts of Death Row, stands a peculiar cobblestone shack. The stones seem crudely held together with a mixture of mud, weak cement, and planks of wood forming and propping up a few of the outer walls. A strange hazy cloud seeps through the small holes and cracks in the structure. The door simply leans across the crumbling door frame and above it loosely hangs a rotted board with the words "Purple Cloud" scrawled on it.

This is the hut for Death Row's most prominent drug dealer, Neeban. Neeban is a brilliant kobold alchemist when he's not hopped up on his own supply. Unfortunately, he's rarely sober. Nevertheless, his product is good and he produces enough to satiate the demand for whatever drug in the area, and in some instances, the city as a whole. Since The Purple Cloud is on the outskirts of Death Row many denizens of the city venture to this little shack to get their fix.

Neeban is eccentric and talks constantly, whether he has someone there to or not. He rarely ever finishes a thought and jumps from topic to topic like seconds ticking away on a clock. His prices are always negotiable, not because he's a shrewd businessman but because he often forgets what his products cost. But if he is taken advantage of, he will get his revenge, as he is a very well connected person within Death Row. Because of these connections, Neeban also knows a lot about the happenings within Death Row and if his memory is jogged (with coin to make him want to help and magic or elixirs that will sober him up), information can be found about almost anything about the people that live and operate here.

Dogshit

Located right next to the Outer Walls, in between two of the city gates, Dogshit is another residential area for low income people. It's few thousand residents live in cramped confines that stink of filth and stagnant air. During the day many second-floor windows are left open to try and air out the buildings, but at night everything is closed up tight as packs of feral dogs roam the streets hunting for scraps of meat.

The Holly Oak

A small area on the outskirts of the Outer City, The Holly Oak was a mix of small residential buildings and larger locations that could be stores or businesses if they weren't quite so dilapidated. Now the only inhabitants are a coven of hags. Several months ago, the City ceded this location to them in exchange for their assistance in maintaining Gandahar's hex wards. No locals, even the toughest ones, step foot inside here because it gives them the creeps. Due to the low traffic and the influence of the hags' fey nature, the area is being reclaimed by various native flora.

Muddy Steps

The Muddy Steps are found just east of the Holly Oak, where the Ashbrune River meets River Wyr. This location teems with knife-shaped juvenile glassfish that feed on the toxic, silty soup of elemental and natural magic. Over the past few decades a tribe of bullywugs built a network of floating huts on the water, keeping them from floating off by tying them together with vines and raw luck. This tribe claims a spiritual connection to the fish here, but many suspect that they really prize having a monopoly on the lucrative glassfish market.

The Pits

This wide swath of rubble and waste is dotted by charred trees and withered shrubbery and is perpetually covered in a thick blanket of smog. The area is riddled with deep craters that spew toxic smoke and ever-burning fires fueled by elemental magic infusing the area. A few years ago, there was a petition to beautify the area, but the only capable mages were too busy with their own projects or disinterested, and so the eyesore remains. Nowadays The Pits are used to train The Smokers, a faction of the City Watch that is used for crowd control or firefighting.

The Smoldering

Not all land is fit for high buildings, but that did not stop the denizens of Gandahar's Outer City. After a few years, most buildings build here sunk deep into the ground, popping bubbles of sulfur and other gases. Rather than give up, most inhabitants decided to build a new layer on top of their current home. It is said some buildings go dozens of layers deep into the muck.

Solemn Isle

A small spit of rock jutting out of the harbor has grown in function and importance over the years. It began when an eccentric monk retreated to this rock, and built a small lean to and sought enlightenment. Stories of the hermit monk spread and others began making the long swim to find inner peace. One shack turned into several and several became one large construct. As the location grew, the monks of the Solemn Brotherhood handled the influx by expanding the only way they could: up.

Now a wide and complex structure on the original rock, the building rises above the water to a tapering point. Different sections and levels display the styles of hundreds of different architects and builders, each one contributing their own small share to the whole. The Ramshackle Monastery often sways in the wind, and those who have walked its halls describe it like being aboard a ship at sea.

The Southeast Moon Gate

Divided by a curving river as it flows toward the harbor, the Southeast Moon Gate is one of the few places in the Outer City to have any kind of City Watch presence. This area is home to discount shops and a few humble temples, but there is also a significant black market presence under the facade.

Duskhollow's Deli

Duskhollow's is a humble and beloved deli in the Southeast Moon Gate district. Anybody in the neighborhood will tell you there's no better place for a meal than Duskhollow's. Isak is a halfling man that runs the deli with his sons, Jasper and Corrin who run the counter, and his wife, Marigold, who also runs the bakery next door. Isak and his family are humble and shrug off the local proclamations, as they simply love making food and supporting the family.

Isak is particularly famous for his mutton, said to be mouth-wateringly tender and delicious. Marigold makes heavenly sweeets, and has a creative mind for baking. She has crafted many unique pastries that have been copied by other bakeries in the city. They could make a lot more money in another part of town, or even with a second location, but sentiment keeps them here. They make what money as they need, and they are content with what they have.

The Trench

The Trench is an area just outside of the walls of the city where even the poor fear to go. A labyrinthine jumble of caves and catacombs promise a network of chaotic travel to anywhere in the city, but only the most cutthroat vagabonds can cut out a space for themselves here. The refugees and sick often stay here for long periods before being allowed into the gates of the city, and nefarious nameless factions rule it with impunity.

The Tumbledown

The Tumbledown is another poor area of Gandahar. Beggars and ragpickers make homes here, and among social outcasts, vagrants, and drifters, this is a slum among slums. These poor folk exist along the walls of the city, with not but stone to make their beds, and the sun rarely reaches the cobbled streets, the cracks of which are now filled with moss and grime. A sprawling and intimidating slum, it includes a strange marketplace to those looking for goods not carried by well-respected merchants. As such, The Tumbledown is home to a shadowy criminal shadow of the markets in the Southeast Moon Gate. Instruments of thieves and poisoners can be found here for those that know where to look, and there are more than a couple pawn shops willing to fence stolen items. Even the City Watch is not immune to a strong word or a few coins attend to their business elsewhere.

Plot Hooks

As a place full of danger and intrigue, the Outer City is full of potential adventure and threats. Some potential plot hooks are outlined below.

A Ring of Bone

A posting on a local job board details a request for adventurers regarding retrieval of an old ring from the Boneyard. The prize is excellent, but no one is accepting it even though it seems to be quite an easy task.

Talking to the nearby locals uncovers information about a man called Ibrahim Al-Nasur, who made the request, and that many people that go on his quests do not return.

Rough and Rowdy

Recently, it seems that all the children you come across are aggressive or are getting into fights with one and another, and the guards are too occupied with breaking up fights and sending them home, on top of their normal guard duties, to investigate why they're so much bolder.

Silence and Darkness

The Lamplighter tradition known as "The Week of Atonement" has just begun and on the first night an entire lamplighter patrol turns up dead with a message scrawled on a nearby wall "Laws will be broken and darkness will take the light. SILENCE is the only way." The Lamplighters are clearly concerned about who is behind this terrible crime, but the Watch claims to have found no evidence. Now, the Lamplighters are offering a generous reward and an official favor to whoever can bring justice to their fallen members.

A Sleeping Titan

The nearby Mount Dahar is actually an enormous Earth elemental titan. Recently, a tribe of goblins on the mountain has disturbed its slumber, and it has rolled over in its sleep and drastically altered the course of the city's only source of fresh water. The city officials are not sure of the best way to solve the issue, but want to avoid waking the titan lest is threaten the city and the people that live there.

Tone Deaf

Members of the Shimmershine Family are looking for some capable "problem-solvers" to get rid of a nuisance in Dogshit. Ironically, this crew for hire has been instructed by the noble family to "nobly" put a violent end to the infamous bard, Ko Rainboom. Ko is an orc that has been a thorn in their sides ever since his music started instigating violence throughout their beautiful city, and they especially don't appreciate the riots extending into their wealthy territories.

Ko frequents a few specific taverns, but his performances seem to have a strange influence. Rumors suggest that using mammoth earwax plugs will block the effect of his magic. However, he has a magical triangle whose high frequency tone cannot be blocked with earplugs.

The First Ring

The First Ring is the outermost district of Gandahar that is protected by the city wall. This district is definitely not the ritziest place in town, but it is significantly safer than the slums in the Outer City. The locations here are generally respectable, and the population is often more relaxed due to the consistent presence of the City Watch's occasional patrols.

The Crossroads Inn

At every crossroad of Gandahar, there exists and yet does not a sometimes ramshackle, sometimes iron-plated, sometimes gilded double-doorway. Through the seam between the doors the faint sounds clinking of iron steins and roaring laughter, hissing crackles and melodic singing slip out. Those that have the bravery open this door will find themselves within an enormous, seven-leveled hall, filled with tables surrounded by a colorful horde of extraplanar beings: devas share drinks with red and green slaadi, an archfey might play cards with a vampire, a hive of illithid in a drunken spoon-bending contest, and dozens of other strange entities. Standing behind the bar, fire burning in his eyes and the fangs bared into an ever sardonic smirk is the proprietor of this inn, a pit fiend named Zselbor, who created this demiplane as both a neutral zone for extraplanar and interplanar beings alike, but also as a seat of business for his own soul-selling deals.

A strict non-aggression rule is enforced within the tavern hall- and anyone dumb enough to violate it will soon find themselves kicked out the door, cursed and dumped in the Quarantine, The Hop, Dogshit, or any other of the city's shadier districts.

The Forge

This industrial heart of the city is riddled with factories and houses made with cheap materials. With few security measures and a complete disregard for its workers, The Forge exports items and corpses alike. Days with fewer than twenty accidents are rare.

But The Forge's exports are more than just items and construction materials. Anybody that's searching for a forged document or where to acquire unlicensed items can often find them here for a price.

The Golden Square

The Golden Square is home to most of the houses of lower nobility or wealthier merchants. The square is filled with shops selling luxurious goods, grand villas of the rich, and in the center of it is the monument to the city's protector. The square is, however, also known as a place to find forbidden texts, cursed items, and rumors say the assassin guilds operate out of here.

The trading guilds here call The Ruby Palace their headquarters. This Palace is the biggest building in the area and serves all the licensed merchants and guilds as a central location for official business to be done. But underneath, slavers keep their illegal trade, selling slaves to the richest people in the city, or organizing gladiatorial fights in the underground pits for the amusement of the rich.

Oxo Box

This place sits on the southwest corner of The Golden Square, where an elderly wood elf named Adran Hanali specializes in "unique and interesting containers."" Magical chests, extradimensional bags, jewelry boxes that teleport goods into wall-safes, and all manner of interesting containers can be found here, but they are far from cheap.

Slaver's Pen

Underneath the Ruby Palace in the Golden Square, exists a large slave market. Slaves from all races and backgrounds can be found here. Once per week, a large auction auction is held within the Slaver's Pen. For anyone looking to buy slaves for a reasonable price, this is the place to go but, being an illicit marketplace, the Black Hand's best people guard the location during the big event.

Sylvana

A married gnomish couple owns Sylvana, a small shop on the outskirts of the Golden Square. Garland and Stump Skyward mostly sell fruits of the forest and happily provide samples for patrons to taste, but also sell fruit tarts, nuts, and sugar candies here. Non-food items are available as well, including intricately sculpted and woven twigs form delightful brooches, rings, tiaras, leaves that smell spicy or sweet and never seem to die, walking staves, intricate wooden locks, and fantastic sculptures made of wood.

The shop is supplied by Tivi, a young gnomish woman. She knows many haunts for rare creatures and plants, and often brings ghost stories that she happily shares with customers whenever she's returned with a pack of forest pickings.

The Great Oak

The Great Oak sits in the middle of a small plot on the western end of the city. The “island” is a haven for druids of Gandahar and teems with flora that surround the titular giant oak tree. The Great Oak is also home to an ancient dryad named Quercinius. She hasn’t spoken to the humans of the city for decades, and not even the druids that watch this small grove are sure as to why. They can still sense her presence here, but for some reason, none of them are able to contact her and get a response.

The Great Reservoir

A classic piece of great Shimmershinean architecture, The Great Reservoir acts as Gandahar's main freshwater supply. Once Gandahar began growing beyond the capacities of its rivers and wells, the Shimmershines built a sophisticated aqueduct connecting the city to water in nearby mountains.

The main supply hub at the city's fringe near the Great Oak is connected to a network of aqueducts and pipes that provide water to wells and cisterns throughout Gandahar's other districts.

The Hop

Many years ago, a section of the city was accidentally pulled into a pocket dimension. The arcane energy that caused the schism was strong enough to stabilize, but not strong enough to fully break the earthly bonds within the soil. Portals to this dimension will occasionally rip open around the city before abruptly closing. But rumors circulate of more permanent access points: a wall, the center of a street, just under that manhole cover, or a washroom towel closet. Any of them might contain a sudden entryway to a strange part of town. But entering The Hop should be done with care. There's no telling when someone might find their way out again, or where in the city they might land.

Icheps' Grasp

Towers of crumbling iron and stone anchored to the corners of ancient fortifications and forgotten rooftops and rise at chaotic angles into the choking smog are locally known as Icheps' Grasp. Originally constructed to anchor an armada of airships, as a defense against incursions from the Plane of Air, they now house an immigrant community of Aarakocra, who build airy constructions of net and silk, suspended from the fraying lengths of rope and wire that connect the towers.

The Jade Pathway

A small district squeezed between the middle class and seedier parts of the city, The Jade Pathway is a series of two cracked cobblestone streets lined with jade statues of intricately carved animals. Small offerings are often left at statues' feet in hopes of good favor or a twist of luck. Small shops are clustered together along the street creating a menagerie of tea shops, fortune tellers, herbalists, produce vendors, and fabric shops. The cramped alleyways in between are rumored to provide cover for ne'er-do-wells to conduct some small business.

The Clearbrook Clinic

Wedged deep into the smashed together buildings of the Jade District the bubbling sounds of a magical spring can be heard coming from a small courtyard nestled between small, tightly packed buildings belonging to the Collective.

The Clinic is humble and mishmashed, but has organized entryways in all of the surrounding buildings to maximize accessibility. For the right price, access to most types of medicines can be purchased from Irene Armstrong and The Brook Serpent. Irene is an older human woman with silvery hair, and the Serpent is a living snake with blood that can heal most ailments.

Beyond The Serpent's blood, the Clinic only offers mundane healing and access to non-magical doctors and nurses to the injured. But Irene Armstrong also has connections to the seedier underbelly of Gandahar, and often provides healthcare to criminal organizations in exchange for favors - an offer that makes the Clinic very popular among the various groups of organized crime in Gandahar.

The Imperial Leaf

Nestled between buildings in The Jade Pathway is a small tea shop, owned by a family of halflings. Bandobrass Weatherby is the father and owner of the establishment, and inherited the small shop from his father.

After a brief stint abroad where he met his wife Naveen, and returned to Gandahar, with contacts for exotic ingredients. Their children, Alvienda and Barnaby work as servers and cleaners.

The Pipe Dream

Incense, tobacco, hookah, and other fumes erupt from the doors of The Pipe Dream, often sending patrons into fits of coughing. As the illustrious sign out front claims, this is "Gandahar's Finest Tobacconist Shop!" and is filled with rare and exotic blends of tobacco and herbs and a variety of exotic pipes, mostly glass and wood, to smoke them in. The owner, a tall and graceful efreeti named Arrushi claims his products are completely legal, but he's been accused of dealings with the Brothers Sanguine or the Quorth Syndicate, and moving hallucinogens and interplanar poisons for Interworld Trade & Transport. The City Watch keeps a close eye, but without much drug regulations, they usually just pull him in on suspicion of charges, and try to make something stick.

Arrushi himself was a minor noble in the City of Brass, on the Plane of Fire. He came to Gandahar on a bender, and found himself stuck and unable to return. He dresses ostentatiously, and tries to give off an air of sophistication, but generally comes off as gaudy. He wears lots of jewelry, including gold and platinum chains, and multiple rings on each finger. He also has several piercings on his face and ears that glitter in the fire light.

Target

A combination bowyer and fletcher’s shop. Run by a pair of hunting enthusiast humans. Their family have been merchants for generations, and their two loves of mercantilism and hunting combined when they founded Target. They also dabble in the sale of other adventuring supplies, backpacks, bedrolls, rope, dried rations, lanterns, lantern oil, canvas, tents, and more.

The Jumble

In ages past, the city went through a civil war, and terrible machines of Gnomish clockwork were deployed and detonated. As a result, parts of the city became fractured and twisted in space and time. They say no one enters The Jumble and emerges unchanged.

The Mazelands

Prices on housing have always been an issue for a city of Gandahar’s stature and the ever-growing greed of its nobles. An attempt at solving the issue resulted in a series of affordable land offers and pliable construction laws. An excellent resolution on paper, it quickly turned into a sick mockery of itself. Now, a claustrophobic mishmash of towering buildings, constructed in the cheapest possible way, stack on top of each other like bricks, slowly chokes out their residents with chaotically formed narrow twisting streets and alleyways. The sun never shines down to the streets of The Mazelands, and a considerable portion of its population prefers it that way.

The peculiar nature of this district results in strong and considerably loud wind currents, unique to the Mazelands. They increase in intensity the higher you climb up its streets, often carrying away a stray plank or two the winds ripped from one of the buildings. Its rather unfortunate adjacency to the Forge has made things even worse for the residents on its border; however, but the wind takes care of most of the smog.

The New Docks

A century ago, a coven of powerful arcanists wielding move earth were led by a powerful elven woman named Mialee Verevan to purchase barren patch of muddy shoreline next to the existing docks. With magic, they built a bigger, better, more efficient set of docks. Merchants flocked to the New Docks because it was cheaper, faster, easier, and safer to do business there. The arcanists and their ancestors now rule over this district as powerful and wealthy maritime leaders.

They do not fear Duke Brackron, the owner of the aging and rotting docks that used to serve Gandahar. The Harbor Witches have powerful allies among the merchant class now. Surely the displaced aristocracy wouldn't do anything rash to upset the new order?

The Quarantine

Around 200 years ago a strange pestilence spread in this district. It grew quickly out of hand and bodies piled on the streets. The regent of that time saw no other means than to seal the district's gates shut and enforced a brutal quarantine which is upheld present day. Nobody knows what has grown in there over time, but the neighboring residents report of strange howling at night.

Aviot Perch

Located in front of the former gate to The Quarantine is a mishmash of an old watchtower and a multi-storied shop. Cantilevered beams protrude out at different levels from the tower and support crudely built shack-like structures from which the screeches, hoots, and caws of birds can be heard.

Entering the double doors at ground level reveals a surprisingly organized display floor. On the left wall are shelves loaded with bird cages, falconry gloves, hoods, and any other accessories needed to train and care for avian companions. Behind the main counter is a huge sign with the names of nearby towns and cities, along with some more distant locations. The top of the sign reads “Pigeon Deliveries” and next to each city name are two hooks from which hang two numbers; one that lists a price, and another that lists how many homing pigeons are available for that particular city.

On the main desk is a book titled, “Fester’s Guide to All Things Feathered” and on the right wall hang several metal pots filled with a diverse display of colorful feathers. Several nearby display cases contain sturdier flight feathers crafted into beautiful quills and a chest filled with straw holds a variety of strange eggs ranging in size from 1/4 in to 12 in diameters.

At the back of the shop is a locked door leading into the base of the old tower to which the shop is now adjoined. Behind the counter is Matilda Conrador, a thin and wiry human woman. Her long bony legs, tall skinny neck, and oversized nose give her the appearance of a malnourished bird. The upper floors of the shop house the multitudes of birds for sale and the homing pigeons for hire. A hidden room on the 5th floor contains the rarest magical birds along with some magic feathers and quills. Greer the Falconer resides on the top floor.

The Aviot Perch does a lot of business selling quills to The Inkpot, and Tamler of Carto o'Graphs. Sometimes it even sells rare eggs and birds to The Sizzler.

Strangeways

Strangeways is a collision of alleyways and dead end streets. The district started outside of the city proper, established by a group of refugees from other kingdoms and folk who weren’t necessarily welcome amongst polite company in Gandahar proper. As such, they were forced to settle outside Gandahar, until the city came to them, and eventually overtook them. A number of taverns and inns cluster near the edges of the district, and citizenry from the rest of the city often come here to relax among friends and delight in observing the “exotic” clientele.

A bit of a slum, and sometimes dangerous to those who don’t fit in, Strangeways got its name from its rag-tag construction. An alleyway can go a hundred feet or more without any turn off and end in a solid wall, and larger streets can twist back and forth. Most of the Lizardfolk of Gandahar make their homes here and a majority of them like to keep to themselves. Prominent industries here cater to exotic items, strange potions, magical baubles, and other occult objects.

The denizens of Strangeways sometimes feel ignored by the law enforcement of the city, and keep things in order by themselves. It isn't a lawless area, but the community has made their own way in the world and take pride in the space they have made, and protect it as they see fit against those who would otherwise impose their will on the locals.

The Swamp Farm

Over the decades, Gandahar has grown and consumed the land around it, but one patch of land that has avoided being swallowed by the city is a square of swamp now known as The Swamp Farm. The swamp was bought by a dwarf named Perrin Ungart who hated mining. Initially the farm was on the outskirts of the town and he saw profit in the rare mushroom growths that produced a natural flammable gas.

Perrin farmed the gas for many years and watched the city grow around it. Many people offered to buy the land off him could not match the profits Perrin earned from the naturally occurring gas. He passed the farm down to his son, Brenton, who now runs it and employs a small workforce of harvesters and alchemists to gather and bottle the super flammable product.

Vaultside

Unearthed by a hyper-localized elemental cyclone, this slab of smooth granite known as The Vault offered something rare to the architects and developers of Gandahar - a blank canvas.

In the following decades, a mad-rush of decadent opulence, slapdash construction and creative success and failures have made Vaultside one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. Never mind the whispers in the night, the lack of sewers, and the slight tilt of the great slab. It's the price you pay for luxury.

Plot Hooks

To add intrigue and mystery for players exploring this district, any of the following plot hooks should fit into the First Ring.

Magical Illness

A citizen approaches the PCs for help. Someone has fallen sick, shortly after joining a small religious movement. It's not quite heretical or cultish, just an offshoot of the local religion and a little weird. If the PCs investigate, they'll easily find out that the symptoms of this illness include: inability to sleep, burning in the lungs, exhaustion, itchiness in the throat and chest, difficulty eating.

The local medical professionals have discovered this disease is transmitted through the air, but it has resisted all of their mundane and magical attempts to cure it. Questioning patients is risky, but it's the only way to find patient zero. Clues point toward an empty house in a wealthy district, but the neighbors aren't thrilled with the unofficial investigators.

Map of Hidden Places

A cartographer is selling a map of the city with streets and buildings that don't exist in real life. But he swears that building was there the other day. If the PCs purchase the map, they do a double take when all the sudden, they walk by a building that definitely wasn't there before but is clearly marked on the map.

Murder, Murder

Three murders with no apparent connection have occurred over the past three days. A wealthy merchant, convinced he has figured out the whole thing and expects to be the next target, hires the group to protect him.

Missing Persons

The Slaver’s Pen was infiltrated and several slaves were stolen. Strangely, only slaves with exotic, monstrous ancestry were taken. The fey ringleader has heard that the party is capable, and will pay handsomely for what he only describes as "stolen inventory." If pressed, he will describe the slaves as "exotic sculptures" or "works of art" in an attempt to convince the party to accept his Fey Bargain before they can uncover what his "missing inventory" actually is.

No Rooms at the Inn

When the party searches for an inn to purchase housing, they run into a problem. There is a reclusive visitor at this location who has not paid for their room today, hasn't eaten, and come out since that night. A strange woman paid for his board initially and hasn't been back since. When they arrived, she the man seemed drunk and had trouble making his way up the stairs, stumbling like he didn't know how to work his feet. Nothing too strange late at night for an inn, but he did really stomp like mad. She paid for two nights but it's been three and the innkeeper is looking to kick him out.

Pop Up Magic Shop

A mysterious shop filled with magical oddities appeared in a back alley over night.

Pocket Protection

The Pocket Protectors are at war with an infestation of fey. All across the city pocket planes are being occupied, which prevents them from being closed off by the group.

Rat's Bounty

A group of young street urchins known as the Rat's Bounty have a new leader by the name of Kitty Clayborn. The group of orphaned ruffians are starting to take on more daring and dangerous heists under her leadership. They now have a bounty on their heads from the Gandahar City Watch, funded by the affected local businesses.

The Ringleaders

A fight at the bloodhound tavern got out of hand a few nights ago, leading to a bloody riot. The powers that be in House Delvier have shut the tavern down and are offering rewards for the capture of the ringleaders.

A Sacrifice is Needed

A desperate mage aspires to lichdom, but cannot find a way to properly offer a sacrifice to his phylactery. In a desperate attempt to make his phylactery work, he tried to summon a meteor to strike the town and cause a mass offering.

Tending Bars

The Crossroad Inn is looking for new personnel! Hiring notices have been spread across the city, each one several pages long, filled with infernal jargon and the promises of a "culturally and alignment-inclusive and diverse workspace, unique experiences and double pay on night shifts." But also lists requirements such as: "proficiency in at least two extraplanar languages, knowledge of spells of 3rd level minimum, and open-mindedness in working with infernal or abyssal customers."

Time for Sabotage

The last carriage from the War Forger did not reach its destination in the House of Clockwork. A bit more tipsy than usual, Sir Girbery Temeryan has put his honor on the line to find the perpetrator, and he needs help.

The Ultimate Pub Crawl

Greithrot is preparing a pamphlet for his side-business. He needs a group of brave individuals to run through every tavern they can find in one night and report back while preferably still inebriated.

Under the Lake

A recent drought has caused the Great Reservoir to reach an all time low. The Dewdrops have reported what appears to be an old crypt on the lake bottom and The Relic Seekers are looking for adventurers to help with exploration.

Vanishing Statues

One of the statues has gone missing around town. Some claim it was activated but none of the magical shops or academic institutions seem to know what's going on.

Wandering Monsters

A section of the city has been closed off to stop the spread of a mysterious life form.

The Second Ring

Home to the wealthier nobility and very well-to-do, white-collar working class, The Second Ring is a district full of decadence and elegance. The best and most reputable merchants live and work here, and anyone who's anyone will come here to rub shoulders with the elite.

Inkarnations

Located in a hidden basement below The Inkpot, nobody becomes a patron of Inkarnations except through invitation. Those that gain access can purchase services from the Inkmistress, a woman of great mystery and significant talent, able to inscribe tattoos imbued with strange powers.

The Inkmistress maintains her secretive business model by magically erasing the memory of anyone that visits her. She employs a few trusted individuals to screen and select potential clients for her unique and expensive services.

The Inkpot

The largest store in the city specializing in anything written or mapped, The Inkpot is the place to go for anything relating to written word or cartography. The ground floor deals with book bindings and the creation of scrolls, and also carries mundane paper and ink for general use. The second floor contains finished products such as maps or scrolls, and the third holds any magical ink and paper.

Ketterman Barley's Statuary

Adjacent to the central plaza of the Artisan District sits a small but intricately designed storefront made entirely of marble. Ketterman, the owner, is a middle-aged gnomish stone carver of some renown who always seems to know about what's going on with the upper nobility, and does all kinds of stonework here. He's expanded his business recently by offering smaller, personal busts for clients, which fits well with his upper class clientele (although he has no qualms about who he works for, so long as they can pay).

But what nobody has realized yet is that Ketterman is actually an accomplished diviner as well and he magically imbues all of his work with a subtle divination spell. Once a sculpture is complete, Ketterman can see through a sculptures' eyes and hear through its ears, and when he uncovers particularly noteworthy information, he sells it or uses it as blackmail under the alias "The Emerald Pool"

Ketterman has operated in Gandahar for almost a century now, and his work has been erected not only throughout the city but beyond its borders as well. Through his alias he has garnered clients from the most notable people in Gandahar, including The Lilac Order, The White Dagger, Interworld Trade & Transport, The Department of Salt, The Black Hand, and even House Shimmershine. With his vast catalogs of blackmail he's managed to play everyone against each other in order to remain alive and untargeted, This is aided largely in part by his hat of disguise and many other tricks to mask his true identity.

Merlin's Magical Mercantile

Run by the extravagant and "mad" rock gnome wizard known as Merlin Glasseye, this magical shop of wares, weapons, armors, and other "doo-dads" never stays in the same place for long. The store resides in a pocket dimension that moves around, but it favors The Artisan's District over other districts within the ring.

Entering the store requires finding the magical door knocker shaped like a nose and a doorknob made of diamonds. The interior space is largely a mystery though, as very few people ever make their way inside.

Tualla's Tanning and Tattoo

An elderly woman name Tualla runs this tanning shop and tattoo parlor. Her hunched frame moves very slowly and her voice wobbles almost as much as she does. She sometimes has apprentices assist with tanning leathers and hides, but none of them are permitted to help with the tattooing business; Tualla is the only one that creates tattoos.

The shop provides anything related to hide, including leather-bound books to light armor. The few apprentices work in a small space behind the store where they tan, dry, and dye leather for whatever a client requests. Indoors, Tualla operates the tattoo equipment. Her shaking hands might be off-putting for anyone getting a tattoo, but Tualla's tremors vanish once she begins her work.

Ursula's Ursine Unguents

Nestled in a dim alley deep within The Artisan's District, the shop hasn't been owned by anyone named Ursula in at least a century, and hasn't sold anything resembling unguent in nearly as long. The long shelves in the front of the shop are dusty and thinly stocked, and the bored-looking half-elf behind the register barely looks at the patrons who scurry through the shop with eyes averted.

But down a narrow hallway and through a heavy, locked door (the password is gall), the light is warmer, the small wildberry cakes on the table are only a few days old, and the glass cases and shelves are full. Here, Gandahar's small population of Werebears shop and linger, purchasing bundles of holly to ward their doorways and fresh salmon to devour whole.

Your Familiar Store

Leonard is a kindly old human wizard with a heart of gold. The shop itself blends in with the surrounding structures, marked only with a marine-blue sign that reads "Your Familiar Store in curly golden letters above a rat wearing a pointed hat. He's owned this shop for some two-dozen years and sells various magical creatures such as tressyms, pseudodragons, blink dogs and more.

He cares much more about making people happy than turning a large profit, so he charges just enough to live his life and get more creatures to sell. Sometimes he might sells a creature companion at a loss, if he realizes that a customer can't afford one they really love. He also invites children to play with the creatures, so that way they are properly socialized and given time to stretch and play. Leonard also sells scrolls of find familiar and incense at a fair price.

The Brugg

Sir Lester Gilleus von Brugg founded this district nearly 300 years ago, with the intent of building a center of wealth and prosperity for Gandahar. Unfortunately, Lester caught a bad case of Bloodthroat, and passed away mere weeks after the opening of "Bank von Brugg." But development of the district continued, under the supervision of his son, Madeus Feldo von Brugg II.

Cicle of Salt Stones

Dredged from the coast during the building of the City Docks, laborers dragged these seventy-seven heavy white monoliths and erected them in a rough standing circle. Eventually they built a low wall between them to segregate this district more completely. The Stones range in size from a dog up to a fire giant, and stand sentinel over the wealthy that reside here.

Beggars or anyone deemed unworthy to enter the Circle is forcibly removed, often violently, by guards desperate to maintain their comfortable posts. Any bad smell which makes it's way into the Circle is quickly found and abruptly ended with a cruel blade and a dusting of sage or potpourri. It is said that the guards at the gates can tell your net worth from a glance and a good sniff, and only the cleanest and wealthiest of visitors are permitted into the stone sanctuary. Black market perfumers offer alchemical scents which they claim can fool the guards, with limited success.

The Docks

A potent odor of fish, salt, shit, and vomit fill the air around the docks: Gandahar's center for maritime industry and trade. Sea-bound traders come and go every day and smaller fishing craft crowd the waters in the mornings and evenings as they leave to and return from their daily task.

On the streets surrounding the harbor, fishmongers loudly and aggressively peddle their products. Sailors from the merchant vessels roam in packs, searching for a good time in the local taverns, inns, and brothels. Local urchins look on with keen eyes, waiting for a chance to pick a pocket or two and longshoremen move quickly about, keeping the flow of goods between the ships and the warehouses going.

The Droma

The Droma is one of the greatest arenas in the known world. An ambitious project even in its infancy, more and more talented minds helped it grow in size and complexity. Originally a generous track for chariot racing, The Droma grew into an epic dome for all kinds of contests. Events are hosted here thousands, and both blood and gold flow through it like a river. Eventually, The Droma became so big and so renowned that the entire district was named after it for the sake of simplicity. Events include racing, jousting, archery, wrestling, beast fights, bloodsport, and contests of skill. The arena contains enough space to host pitched battles between two small armies of up to 500 people each, labyrinth challenges and can even be flooded to stage sea battles.

Additionally, there are four established Teams within the Droma, and they constantly compete among themselves for dominance in every contest. The people of Gandahar have latched on to this, bringing the rivalry and drama of the Droma into their everyday lives. This has lead to countless tavern brawls throughout the city, and on rare occasions city-wide riots when a particularly thrilling contest occurs between two rival Teams.

The Bronzed Crucible

An aged gnome named Barnsworth Cadecus runs this alchemy shop near the Droma Arena. He's been nicknamed "Barnsly" by the locals and keeps a fine stock of fresh herbs, exotic materials on hand, and any other materials needed for beginners or seasoned alchemists. Within the shop, alchemy devices bubble away behind counters, and bins of fresh herbs line a wall across from creature specimens in jars and the air carries a mix of scents including sulfur, sage, and tree sap.

Barsnsly always keeps an eye out for adventurers that could retrieve new ingredients or restock existing ones, and is more than happy to reward such quests with potions or alchemical reagents. He can also fulfill custom potion requests and rumors have circled around him providing performance enhancing potions to Arena competitors.

The Sizzler

Located near the gate to the Droma in the Artisan's District, a jovial and very fat half-ogre named Thog runs this exotic restaurant. The meals are renowned for being tasty and filling, and the exotic ingredients have been known to sometimes provide temporary buffs to all that partake. The most popular dishes immediately follow particularly exciting beast fights in the Droma when the leftovers get sent to their kitchens. Thog's cooking is so popular that nobility throughout the city have tried recruiting him as their personal chef. But he always refuses, insisting that his food is meant for all to enjoy. The Sizzler specializes in rare meats of all kinds and pays well for rare meat, as long as it's fresh.

SLVRFSSH

Plish, the Bullywug proprietor of SLVRFSSH, pulls his vermin-laden cart from the Muddy Steps to a coveted spot near the gates of The Droma nearly every day, followed by a cloud of street urchins intent on either stealing one of the glittering insects, extorting a copper to help protect Plish from agents of the Blue Fish Gang, or both.

While a few spectators purchase the still-wriggling silverfish to eat, most pay Plish to run the bug through a specialized grinder that strips the scintillating scales, which they then wear in their hair or on their clothes, usually in support of Captain Vindicar's White Team.

Swan Ronson's Wooden Wonderland

Despite the cutesy-sounding marketing, this store's utilitarian interior sits mostly empty except for a few shelves shelves displaying Ronson's works. He is a "take-no-shit" kind of person, and any attempt to haggle -- even upward -- will be met with a silent glare. Luckily, his prices are mostly fair. He set up shop in Gandahar because he heard rumors the town had a very laissez-faire economic policy, aligning with his political views. Sadly, his research was wrong, and he lives constantly under the oppression of The Man. He's considering a job in public service, and politics is the only thing he will talk at length about other than woodworking.

Swan tends to dislike social contact, unless speaking about a topic he likes. He regards marketing and sales as "a bunch of namby-pamby bullshit" and only advertises through word of mouth and the sign outside his door. The sign was put up by his brother Fred without his knowledge. Swan lives above his store and uses a back entrance when he needs to leave the building. He doesn't know the sign exists and flies into a rage if it's pointed out, before pulling the sign down and retreating to his woodworking room in the back.

The Gilded Avenue

A street reserved for the ultra-rich and ultra-influential, houses on the Guilded Avenue are made of valuable stone, wood, and metal, and often feature stained glass, beautiful wrought iron, and elegant sculptures. The residents indulge in excess, and parties with the finest foods and drinks Gandahar can offer occur every night. Commoners regularly try to gain entry to eat the wasted food but are always held back by the hired muscle that the residents employ.

Due to the prestige here, many shady political deals take place inside the cold stone and metal houses in rooms with no windows. This avenue effectively runs the whole city and doesn't give any thought to the welfare of the normal citizens.

The Gods-dam

A series of alleys and tightly packed streets that separate The Mass Morass from The Highbrow. Without the Gods-dam it is widely believed that the preachers from the Mass Morass would overflow into the rest of the city drowning everyone in educational pamphlets about the gods.

Goyle Spires

Ostensibly a district of worship, dozens of temple steeples and bell towers pierce into this skyline. Nearly every deity has a representative temple here, and ground traffic is so heavy that the major cross-streets block passage for horses, carts, carriages, wagons, or any other large creatures or vehicles.

The High Brow

Less a packed, official district of Gandahar, and more row of streets, student homes and colleges that form a ring around the center of the city, the High Brow is home to scholars, intellectuals, arcanists, alchemists, and students who cannot afford the nobler homes in the wealthier city districts. The High Brow is always bustling with students of the various colleges, as well as many cheap food stands, carriage stops and cheap, but comfortable taverns.

The Imperial College

The Crown of Gandahar endowed the Imperial College, and made it famous as a locus of merit and nobility. The collection of older stone buildings surrounds a lawn known as The Great Quadrangle. Students must reside inside campus walls, either renting a small private cell in a dormitory or, for well-connected students, a bed in one of the hereditary manor-houses. Courses are taught in the Lingua Arcana, the runic language of gnomes and students may be assigned custodial chores as punishment if caught speaking the common tongue on campus. On campus, students are required to wear academic dress denoting their level of academic levels and hats denoting their social station.

The Mass Morass

The Mass Morass is the colloquial term for the district that houses most of Gandahar's temples. Most masses or religious services are held at the same time leading to heavy foot traffic each evening. Priests, proselytizers, and preachers each stand out front of their respective houses of worship competing to see who can draw in more converts, causing an intense cacophony in the Morass during peak worship hours.

The Creeper's Keeper

Seemingly out of place in Mourner's Circle is the workshop of Klavcog Mechanica, The Creeper's Keepers. The two-story building is constructed of smooth stacked stone walls sandwiched between large vertical beams of timber. A series of wooden chutes zig-zag down the shops sloped roof where they eventually direct water to a wheel whose shaft penetrates into the front wall of the building. A quick look inside the shop’s large storefront windows reveals a state-of-the-art workshop for all things mechanical. Leather belts direct power from the water wheel to mills, lathes, saws, grinders, and other machinery.

The shop is owned by an abnormally tall gnome named Tepper Klavcog and his dwarven wife Senna. While sometimes contracted to design and build unique pieces of machinery for various industries located in The Forge district, the Klavcogs main business involves maintaining The Crypt Creeper and all of its auxiliary systems.

Senna generally serves as The Crypt Creeper’s primary operator. She uses a magic key to unlock the elevator’s gearbox, and controls the descent from the control panel. A ride ticket can be purchased at the workshop if someone desires to visit the burial sight of a loved one.

The Crypt Keeper

Utilizing an intricate system of pulleys and gears, an elevator named The Crypt Creeper was constructed to ease access into the city's primary crypt. At different levels, horizontal tunnels have been constructed to serve as the catacombs of Gandahar. By law, the city requires that the only entrance to the tunnels be through the shaft in an effort to keep the impoverished residents of the city from finding refuge within the passageways.

Different depths correspond to different wealth and status. It can take hours for the elevator to reach the lowest passages which can be thousands of feet down. The origins of the shaft are shrouded in mystery, some say it is the remains of an ancient dwarven mine, some a freak act of nature, and others even claim it to be a direct portal to hell.

At precisely 7:06 each morning and evening a massive cloud of steam blasts out of the shaft, severely scalding any creature caught in the way. In order to avoid damage, The Crypt Creeper was designed to be swung out of the way prior to these powerful events.

The Holy Boast

At the very edge of the Mass Morass sits a humble shop, rather ironically named The Holy Boast. Inside, every manner of holy symbol and religious iconography is available for purchase. Run by a tall, pale human man by the name of Rednaksi, The Boast is the only shop in the city that sells holy water blessed by a High Priest of Elohim, The current First Son of Jhamas, a Paladin of Asmodeus, and a man so holy he never ate, cut his hair, or took a bath for 40 years.

Rednaksi dutifully keeps his eyes glued to his customers, reaching for holy symbols or vials of holy water for his patrons without looking. Wearing thick leather gloves, long sleeves, full pants, and large, well polished boots he navigates his store with an almost preternatural sense of awareness.

The shop is open from dusk until dawn and warm, and bright light is cast from various magical flames stationed around the room so customers can see. While Gold, Platinum, and Copper are all accepted, buyers paying in Electrum and Silver are asked to exchange their money before completing a transaction.

Mourner's Circle

Located at the southern portion of The Mass Morass District is Mourner's Circle. It consists of a small collection of temples and shops dedicated to sending family and friends to the afterlife, and officially serves as the only access point to the city’s catacombs through the Crypt Keeper.

Nero's Place

Tucked away in the Mass Morass is a small curiosity shop run by an aging, paranoid, neurotic elf named Nero, who is convinced there's a demon after him. Nero sells a wide assortment of scrying crystals, mirrors, looking glasses, and patented listening tools that he uses on a daily basis. Some of his inventions are actually helpful, like his 'Peek-Around' that angles two mirrors inside a square tube to look around corners. Others are less helpful, like his 'Hearing Helm' that is basically two gramophone bells welded onto a bucket. He also sells protective charms and wards to help keep... well anything off your back, really. For the paranoid inside us all, Nero's Place is the Place for you!

The Shaft of Souls

Due to its large population and lengthy history, cemetery plots surrounding Gandahar quickly became overpopulated. In addition to this, the ever-expanding city and high cost of land created a demand for a new place to bury the dead.

With rising demand for a new burial ground, planning began for the construction of a system of catacombs. Fortunate for the city planners, early in this process, a sink hole emerged engulfing an old temple in the southern region of the Mass Morass District. The sink hole spanned 53 ft across and was perfectly circular in cross section. Shortly after the cave in, many adventurers and explorers risked their lives in an attempt to find the bottom of the shaft, but to this day no one has succeeded and the depth remains unknown.

Salsborough

Older residents of Gandahar still call this Salsborough, but everyone else has been calling this part of town the Commune for the last few years since its residents began revolting and barricaded themselves in. The city's informal administrative structure, ruled by random cabals of wizards, nobles, and vampires is paralyzed by indecision, and this is reflected in the way it treats the Commune. Some days residents can come and go while on other days days the City Watch prevent travel and embargo goods.

This has led to artists like the Conservatory of the Ruins and the People's Park Party, and regrettably to vices like the Conclave de Coquelicots and the Silk Layers.

Shimmershine Barbican

House Shimmershine built the wall around the old city of Gandahar, and they never want anyone to forget it. Walking through this towering gate onto the city's cobblestones, the family's name is inscribed in Gnomic runes above.

The Thrifle

A group of tiered courtyards that whirl around with several sets of steps, The Thrifle is a unique marketplace by virtually every measure. Each of the courtyards houses certain markets. It seems pure chaos, however some rules are present. Higher tiered squares tend to the more high-end products whereas the lower ones tend to be farmer markets, complete with livestock.

Plot Hooks

Despite the affluent veneer the Second Ring tries to maintain, there are many mysteries in this district -- and generally, nobility pay very well for adventurers to keep their requests discreet. Below are several quest hooks that should fit into this district:

A Child in Need

A child approaches the party and asks them for help: the patron of their orphanage is under assault by sinister elements, either through blackmail, kidnapping, or some other attack. They can't offer any reward, but the Second Ring is where heroes are, so surely they'll help. Right?

Class Warfare

A network of wealthy merchants in the city has been repeatedly robbed by a notorious thieves guild and is requesting aid in shutting them down. At the same time, the thieves guild is recruiting to “right a grievous wrong.” The party must learn both sides of the story and choose who to aid and what to ultimately do about the situation.

Dark Magic

Mysterious signs have been found carved into walls around the campus of Imperial College Gandahar. The magehunter Ir-Kaid Mahet suspects the Whispers of Zeremar are behind them, however townsfolk speak in hushed tones about The Brothers Sanguine and their recent expansions into yet darker trades.

Dude Where's My Cart?

Chessie and Jester went out partying last night at The Bad Place. Things took a weird turn when they took shots with Greithrot and Oddsenends and now they can't remember where they parked their cart or what was in it in the first place. Help them find it for a cut of whatever wasn't stolen by the time they get it back.

Election Complications

A legal loophole in election law has been found, allowing nominated members of the city’s eighteen guilds to not only vote for a new House to lead but also put themselves in the running as well. Before a emergency session of the City Council can be convened, three members of the Council have been found dead by the City Watch. The remaining council members dare not show up in the courts or offices for fear for their lives, prohibiting a quorum.

The Guilds are now in full contempt and conflict with the City Watch and noble Houses that once ruled over the city. Faction war erupts on the streets as citizens hide indoors and hope for a swift end to the violence and intrigue. Mercenaries, private guards, and adventurers have been offered lucrative prizes by each faction to either help restore the peace by arresting faction leaders or install new governments led by the noble Houses or Guilds.

That Extra Edge

At the cities most popular tavern, the head chef and his employees have been using illicit potions to help deal with the long nights and immense workloads. Unfortunately, the potions dangerous side effects are starting to stack up, and as tensions rise with a group of adventurers at the tavern, things are about to go off in a really bad way.

Fishers of Men

When it rains on a moonless night, humanoid creatures with harpoons appear in the city, howling with the wind. They harpoon the first person they meet and drag them away, never to be seen again.

Garden Beasts

The competition for best garden in Gandahar is fierce this year, and one of the competitors is looking for a team of adventurers to capture some herbivorous beasts of some kind to sabotage another competitor’s garden with.

Alternatively, one of the competitors’ gardens were apparently sabotaged and the adventurers need to go and find out who it was that orchestrated that sabotage.

Infinite Quiet

The Church of Silence has an annual Day of Rememberance. During this celebration the clerics with the capability stand in sanctioned thoroughfares, dressed all in black, and cast silence. Those who wish to remember lost loved ones or non-cleric followers and worshippers leave memorials in the hallowed circles.

This year the circles are not the usually 20 ft radius. Entire bazaars are without sound and many street merchants are struggling to do their business. The disruption has lasted longer than the usual one day as well. The Church of Silence has claimed they are not responsible, but are clearly the top suspects. The loss of business is effecting the cities economy as a whole and a reward has been issued for whoever can find those responsible.

Mage's Mansion

Mortimus Entei, renowned magician, is ready to perform his next amazing feat. He will encase himself in ice for the month as a centerpiece in his mansion and open for all to see the wonders behind his doors. Of course for security purposes, Mortimus is hiring private security to give him peace of mind, and he needs personnel who are accustomed to the fantastical world of magic.

Magical Mysteries

An eccentric but wealthy and influential noble recently had an arcane machine stolen from him, but that's all he wants to say about that. He hires the party to find this arcane machine, and points them to the Fold of the Seven, who might be suspiciously unhelpful.

New Homes for Sale

A wizard is selling “luxury homes” which are cropping up all across town. Nobody who lives in them ever seems to go outside, though.

The Raining Dead

In the past week or so, rotting corpses and body parts have started falling from the sky. It only happens at 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening, and only within the Mass Morass and surrounding districts. The frightening thing about these mysterious falling remains is their ability to get up and reassemble themselves after crashing to the ground. The number of bodies falling from the sky appears to be increasing with each event.

Restful Dead

Old Ted is running through the streets saying his mother is wandering the graveyards. She died 20 years ago, so either he's drunk again or something is going on.

Silence Reigns

There are rumors that the Church of Silence has been misplacing bodies of the recently deceased. Some say The Black Hand has infiltrated the ranks of the Church. Others swear The Brothers Sanguine must be involved.

Six Feet Under

A new sewer entrance has appeared near one of the churches. Strangely, none of the city officials, or the church elders, know where it came from or what it connects to.

Two guards were sent into the sewer to figure out what's going on, but quickly returned after running into a sealed section of tunnel. But they did say that it seemed to be heading in the direction of the church's graveyard.

There isn't enough interest from the City Council to explore further with their own manpower, but they'd be willing to pay a few adventurers to see if they can get to the bottom of the things.

Skulkers in the Dark

Whispered among the nobles is a rumor of a race of creatures hiding in the city - some say they are Dopplegangers, some say Skulks, and others claim they know that Constructs are hiding among the population. No one can say what is true and what is only fear.

A Strange Strain

Strange reports of disease have begun popping up in the Shimmershine Barbican district. Whipers and rumors around are that someone or something might have gotten out of The Quarantine.

Terror Attack

A large cell of The Whistlers In The Dark have finally become well-armed enough to launch an assault on a district and make an impression on the imperial reign. With the aid of a fugitive alchemist, they've brewed a noxious poisonous gas in several locations in Salsborough and outfitted themselves with masks designed by the alchemist to filter air. After releasing the gas through Salsborough's streets, citizens and guardsmen that don't succumb to the deadly gas are slain by Whistlers armed with arrows and steel. Salsborough is covered in thick clouds of poison fog with a visibility of 15 feet. the guard cannot enter the district without immediately being overwhelmed by gas and terrorists.

The party is involved when the captain of the guard spots from a watch tower a small pocket in the fog devoid of gas. That pocket is also on top of a sewer maintenance pipe. The party is to be inserted into the sewers from an adjacent district, navigate to Salsborough underground, and once topside, find and defeat a group of terrorists for their masks. Once masked up, the party needs to find and destroy the cauldrons brewing the poison gas in the hot zone and eliminate any Whistlers In The Dark they encounter. The Whistlers are armed and dangerous, will attack on sight, and are in large numbers. Watch your back, adventurers.

Too Much Garlic

The baker is sure that one of his fellow vendors is a vampire. At first nobody took him seriously, but a body just showed up laid across his stall with puncture marks on the neck.

Terrible Orphanage

A man begs for assistance, as his younger brother lives in Suntrod Orphanage and has been secretly sending letters out inferring that the headmistress, Miss Vantasheep, may not be as kind as they say.

What Lies Beneath

Within the past couple of months, there have been an unusual number of sinkholes under Gandahar. The citizens are accustomed to the occasional breakage within the city's vast sewage system, and there is even a dedicated team of "Cleaners" that handle the restoration and upkeep of the stone tunnels. However, the frequency of failures and breakages have been increasing exponentially much to the chagrin of the populace. No part of the city is excluded from these collapses, including the Gilded Avenue, where the nobility of Gandahar lives in extravagant houses. After an especially damaging crack opened up and swallowed two great mansions belonging to the wealthiest noble family in the Gold Heart District, the head of that family, Lady Glinda Rainfort, suspects foul play is involved. She has set out to hire a team of private investigators, which she plans to pay handsomely.

The Inner City

The governmental seat of power resides here in the Inner City. Most people come here for official business for the crown, as emmisaries or diplomats from their own nations, or to visit the most skilled artisans in the region.

The Black Hand

A masked vigilante is killing members of the city council, shop keepers, and other high ranking individuals. The party is hired by the city watch to find and capture the vigilante, but when they confront the masked vigilante the party discovers the victims were all members of criminal organizations such as The Nest, The Black Hand or The Quorth Syndicate.

Faction Wars

The city has become the battleground for turf wars as old grudges boil over, new players enter the field, and official organizations fight back in a complicated web of alliances.

The Silent Knights Thieves Guild has recently appeared and is trying to muscle in on the territories of The Brothers Sanguine -- a deadly decision for both groups. Bodies have been appearing in the streets overnight from both groups and sometimes fights break out in broad daylight.

Agents from The Nest are also showing up dead and there are stories of people being abducted and rescued by roguish people in white, featureless masks. This has lead to rumors that the Silent Knights are also warring with The Nest for control over human trafficking in the city.

The City Watch is having trouble keeping up with all of this, which has led to an increase in sightings of Agents of the White Dagger. Though, since public opinion on the Silent Knights seems to be mixed, the White Daggers are mostly focusing on older, entrenched criminal organizations. However, there’s also rumors that the White Dagger’s secret leader is actually the leader of the Silent Knights Thieves Guild. In an official statement, the White Daggers declared these rumors “dangerous slander punishable by fine and imprisonment.”

Rumor also has it that The Order of the Dispelling Fist is not only interrupting the business of the Interworld Trade and Transport, but they're also quarreling with the Silent Knights as well, due to the Knights use of magical rings.

The City Watch recently shut down many fighting pits in the city in a surprisingly effective sting operation. Unfortunately, this has led to many members of The Mad Blooded to take to the streets, causing much havoc.

The Rust Eaters seem to be reveling in the chaos, as the number of high value thefts has gone up in recent months.

Meanwhile, The Quorth Syndicate seem to have set their sights on The Golden Sail Organization. Ships have disappeared in port, cargo thrown overboard, and even a few captains have been killed or threaten by the Quorth in an attempt to extort the group.

A Losing Battle

The royal family is about to hold their yearly tournament, where mercenaries and travelers with next to nothing to lose are brought to compete against the royals.

The party is dragged up by the city guard who figured no one would be missing a bunch of adventurers, and everyone is forced to participate at the closing show, where they're put up against the royal family.

Before the games, the party has an occasion to speak to other fighters in the arena and they learn that the tournaments have always been framed, and you're supposed to lose intentionally, as to not ridicule the royal family.

So you're up next. Don't forget to lose.

Revolution!

The guild master of the thieve's guild was taught every 30 years or so the rulers become corrupt and the options for leadership stagnate. Living by the mantra of "If you shake everything up, then the good stuff rises to the top," an agent of chaos worms himself in the merchant's guild and slowly seizes the influence of its guild members.

Strikes and revolts are happening, shops are being destroyed, and the economy has been frozen with none going in or out of the city. The nobles are looking into the reasons why while some are trying to seize the opportunity to overthrow the current ruler while low-class merchants also seek this position of power. Everything is up for grabs as the city starts the beginning of a revolution.

Royal Ransom

A king's ransom is being offered by an unknown individual, to anyone who can purloin a specific artifact. Many talk about trying their hand at the heist, but few dare invade the Gentleman's Society. Those who insist on trying their hand don't know where to begin! What is the artifact? Where did it come from? Who is the mysterious figure trying to retrieve it? Why is it so important? Only one way to find out.

Salty salts

There's never enough salt to go around. The DoS is famous for being a bureaucratic nightmare where the precious mineral is concerned.

Rumor has that a a semi-stable portal to the demi-plane of salt is accessible to the bravest (or dumbest) of smugglers somewhere in the Fungal Gloam, but something terrible guards it jealously.

Utopia

After one of the council's oldest members dies, a new to politics young man is voted in, a local leader in a new group known as Unity. He is charismatic, charming and has lots of ideas on creating a better way of living.

He begins work on developing a section of the city to create a place that is rid of crime and corruption, poverty and inequality. With the help of Unity he creates a utopia in one of the districts of all races, no crime, no hunger, all working together.

But something is not as it seems. Disappearances are happening around the city, key leaders personalities have changed and Unity is growing. Is this truly the beginning of Utopia or simply the pacification of citizens to become the cattle to something truly terrifying beneath the surface?

Additional Plot Hooks

In addition to the plot hooks listed in each city district above, there are some that can be easily plugged in anywhere, or that specifically span over multiple districts.

Factions

Gandahar is home to a diverse and intricately intertwined group of factions. These various organizations are recognized by the crown, although criminal groups are not officially approved. However, all the factions serve an important role in Gandaharian politics, and provide important services to the citizenry.

The Vial

A cabal of wizards, alchemists, and apothecary seek immortality through a variety of means, from philosopher's stones to lichdom. Their leader is an ancient silver dragon named Skolthir, who frequently polymorphs into a human. He founded The Vial a couple hundred years ago, and while his intentions are for the best, most members do not share his virtuous intentions.

While the Vial has a network of physicians and apothecaries who help the sick as a front, they hide their shady dealings. Higher ups in the Vial have met with members of the Brothers Sanguine, eager to learn more about vampirism and how to harness the magic associated with it. The Church of Silence has heard rumors of this and looks down upon the Vial for their profane and unholy goals.

Whispers of Zeremar

A covenant of necromancers practices their macabre craft in the safety of Gandahar’s labyrinthian sewers thanks to the blatant incompetence of DIG’s superintendent. Most of the covenant indulges in necromancy for the sake of scientific curiosity rather than evil schemes. An idea reinforced by their namesake, as their founding member was the renowned scientist and alchemical genius, Zeremar De Moria IX.

Whisper members are especially distrustful to any potential initiates, as the Church of Silence has made the process of remaining undiscovered rather troublesome.

Zeremar De Moria IX has recently been returned to the group when the body of a descendant was... Recovered by the group. The ancestral repatriation experiment proved to be a resounding success, but now there is an awkward political tension as the group's current leadership has to contend with the founder's return and increasingly esoteric demands.

The Shimmershine Family has used the Whispers in the past to raise skeletons to be used for cheap labor for their mining operations, which may explain why the mine has shut down, leaving the lower class citizens without work, all the while gold keeps coming in.

Civilian Factions

Many civilians that live in Gandahar have also formed their own factions. While there are hundreds of smaller clubs and groups, the organizations below are officially recognized as Factions by the throne.

The Silk Layers

A network of brothels made to appeal to the carnal desires of the citizens, the Silk Layers have existed in some form for longer than Gandahar has existed. They currently host a troupe from the Clan of a Thousand Shapes - shapeshifters from far away lands, trained to take any form desired.

In an agreement almost older than the city itself, the Silk Layers is permitted to skip tax obligations, and instead donates a staggering amount to a network of orphan’s homes, reform schools, and polishing academies. More than one consort to various heads of state have matriculated from these schools, and the information they feed back to the Madams and Masters of the Silk Layers ensures a plush layer of blackmail against any upstart politician or rival faction looking to make trouble.

The Straight Edge

A group of commoners within Gandahar that have taken to cleaning up the streets. Their disdain for drugs, drug users and those who smuggle and sell such products is immense. Small gangs move about the day, forcefully confiscating any drugs they find on people. They've been known to use violence on users and dealers. The most dedicated dedicated carry a unique rectangular sword with straight edges on the sides and tip to give smugglers and dealers 'the straight edge.' Certain local authorities throw a blind eye to The Straight Edge activities in belief that their sometimes extreme acts are making a positive difference throughout the city.

The Tea Leafs

A caravan of halfling refugees that have settled in the city outskirts with their makeshift home on wheels, the Tealeafs are seen as pests and vermin by the upper class. Yet they've more than made their pay working the unseen jobs and know more than most do in the city.

One particular halfling, however, does not share in the overall joyous mood of the caravan. Fixxan Broomsweep always had more of an opportunistic approach to life and, made business out of sharing the accumulated information on the streets for quick coin rather than a cup of tea. From a small hearsay to a valuable secret, if it was ever said - he’s the man to repeat it.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to visit the caravan, as long as they don't start or bring violence. A cup of tea, and a warm conversation are offered by Mama Bellsing and her granddaughter, Torla. They listen and give advice, usually in the vein of "be kind, and try to solve the problem by talking to them frankly."

People in the city have a two-fold opinion of the Tealeafs - they're pleasant and do honest work, but a particularly obnoxious Noble is certain they are child-thieves and goblins in disguise. Talk is talk, though. The Tealeafs always have the goods if you're needing a smoke to unwind at the end of a day after hustling on the streets of Gandahar. The prices may be steep, but it's worth every copper.

Clerical Factions

Gandahar is no stranger to organized religious groups. Within the faith districts, it's not hard to find a temple or shrine to any approved gods. But within these circles, there are some higher official organizations.

Sons of Pelor

The Sons are a fraternal religious order of worshipers of Pelor that devote themselves to healing the wounded. While relatively few of them possess actual magical power, they are well trained in first aid and the use of conventional medicine. They are primarily a non-military order and provide healing, medicine, wound care, and hospice services, easing the passing of the dying when they can.

Within the ranks, there are further divisions based on specialty, and there is at least one Abbot in each monastery (an Abbot is always a Son of proper seniority with access to divine spellcasting). These monasteries can range wildly in size; in a small town, there may or may not be an installation of The Sons, while in large cities, there may be a hundred Sons or more. In small venues, 3 or 4 Sons may inhabit a regular home together, and tend to mundane concerns, such as wounds derived from agricultural accidents or fisticuffs. There are also orders of The Sons who have no specific home locations and accompany military units to war. Among humanoid cultures The Sons are generally regarded as noncombatants in a fight and will not be targets.

They are on rocky terms with and potential rivals of the Clearbrook Collective who share the same goal of treating the wounded but come off as more underhanded in their way of doing so. The Collective has a respect for the Sons work but they generally think they are a bit to slow and passive to help when it really matters if a crisis ever occurs.

Tyr's Forsaken

In theory, the god of justice smiles on the innocent. In theory, the guilty are found. In theory, they are persecuted, and punished swiftly and fairly. Then again, in theory, once justice is served, the hearts of victims and their families are satiated. Yet, the world does not work thusly; it is not strictly fair.

Where, then, do those denied by the god justice find their peace? Tyr's Forsaken is the vigilante presence in the underbelly of Gandahar, making their own justice and keeping their own peace. It's members are called Hammers, men and women who act where the law will or has not, and the people that support their cause. A blacksmith of Tyr's Forsaken may repair armors and weapons at cost, charging nothing for their service. An innkeep may hide away Hammers sought by the guard to quell vigilante uprisings. Rogue clerics and paladins of Tyr himself may secretly provide healing and support for Hammers, finding the law supports injustice in a number of cases.

Criminal Factions

While the crown of Gandahar recognizes several criminal factions, it doesn't approve of them. They are only recognized so that the throne can justify certain uses of force to help stop their illegal and rogue activities.

The Dancing Snakes

A band of bards that roam the city during the day performing on street corners for coin. But during the night, they turn to their more profitable side business; they are a group of for-hire assassins that will take care of just about anyone for the right price.

House Delvier often resorts to their services when more pleasant methods fail to achieve the expected result. As expected, the organization employs a heavy use of code words in order to maintain the convenient veil of secrecy. Purchase their services, requires a written “request" to “perform” during a feast or a ball held in the target’s name. If the attached payment is to the Dancing Snakes' liking, they will leave an emerald brooch in their client’s bedroom as a sign of the job's acceptance. In their assassinations, the Dancing Snakes prefer to unsheathe their charm first and their blades second, mostly relying on such spells as Charm Person and Modify Memory.

In a city, where every bloody drunkard and their grandmother has some half-magical ju-ju to spy on their neighbors, what is a better way to kill a man, than right in the open? With style, my friend! That is the only way.

— words by which every new initiate quickly learns to live.

The Darkeners

The Darkeners are a sect of adherents that follow “The Dark Man," -- a known player among organized crime within and beyond Gandahar. Colloquially, The Darkeners are devoted to thievery, assassination, trafficking, and more. Membership is secret and not generally advertised, although individual Darkeners are said to recognize each other through a series of coded phrases and greetings used in normal conversation.

However, these stories are all anecdotal, as a Darkener would never admit to their affiliations in public. Most Darkeners never meet another, at least not obviously, and adherents are summoned to visit The Dark Man only individually. Rumors fly about The Dark Man wildly, some say he is made of shadow, others that he is a black dragon in human shape, others that he is a being of infernal influence, and yet others think he is vice made whole by some dark sorcery. But the reality is that no one knows. Darkeners don’t share their affiliations, or their secrets. Some state they don't even exist in the first place, and are a bogeyman tale grown out of control. Some think The Darkeners are a prop, kept up by the government, to impose upon their enemies and thus punish them without reproach from the public.

The Hanseatic League

A loose cabal of actors and performers that smuggle narcotics and other illicit goods through their theaters and venues. They specialize in a drug called "Tar," forged documents, and human trafficking. The sheer flow of people through the theaters disguises their operation. Goods are smuggled in through the docks and hidden sewer paths.

Interworld Trade & Transport

Greithrot the Eviscerator has been given a hat of disguise and a mission by a middle manager at IT&T. He represents the interests of Interworld, offering Courier services both inside the city and across the planes. Because his job often involves the movement of illicit materials and magic items, several Factions would like to get their hands on the peripatetic Mezzoloth-in-disguise and see where he hangs his hat. As a side job, he also serves as a Tout for Gandahar and likes to bring his customers to all the best pubs.

A small branch of Interworld has taken an interest in Gandahar and sees the potential for further profit. Towards that end they have sponsored several enterprises in the city and seek to expand their influence.

The Mad Blooded

Brawlers, pit fighters, gladiators, death seekers, glory hunters are all welcomed to the Mad Bloodedwithin their underground arena in the northern sewers. The first step to gaining access requires visiting the Bloodhound Tavern and asking Gilhar the bartender for a round of "hammerberry ale." The swarthy dwarven barkeep will ask, "Is it for you or a friend?" to which the appropriate response is "It's for me. I've got some rage to drink off."

With that, Gilhar will lead the character to the back to "pick the year," and reveal the underground entrance to the pit. Answering anything else will result in a real glass of the famous dwarven Hammerberry Ale. The fighting is not sanctioned by the government so they have lookouts at all points so the participants can scatter at a moments notice.

In truth, the organization pays a sizable cut of protection money to the noble House Delvier. The house lord, in turn, makes sure that city guards do not give the underground arena too much trouble, keeping the location itself from being permanently barred down after each new raid and delaying the sweeps for major events through a series of bribes.

While the Rust Eaters are generally intolerant of people and creatures that venture too near their communities in the deep, fungus infested parts of the sewers, they make an exception for the Mad Blooded. Once in a blue moon, they even field a pair of fighters, dark-shrouded dagger-wielding Kenku that move with unnatural coordination. Additionally, Interworld Trade and Transport has taken an interest in sponsoring emerging talents in the arena. These fighters are easy to pick out as they wield a unique Greensteel weapon.

The Mantle

The Mantle, a criminal organization run by a Fetchling named Sydell, is involved in robbery, assassination, and drug, weapon and slave trade.

Sydell's purpose is to amass enough wealth to return to the shadowfell, and get revenge on a wizard that experimented on him and other fetchlings that came to the material plane.

The Nest

Lurking beneath the streets of the city, The Nest is a ring of human traffickers led by a scorpionfolk named Chandriasz. They kidnap innocent citizens off the streets by night, and smuggle them through the sewers beyond the reach of the City Guards, selling them to hobgoblins, orcs, or bandit tribes as slaves.

The Nest do not see this kidnapping as a reprehensible - in their culture, being given a family is a gift beyond value. Only the strongest tribes are chosen to receive their new family from the Nest in the city. In their view, both peoples are fortified: the weakest of the city are given support they need to become strong or are allowed to pass from this life into the next, more prepared. They are given a fresh start to make something of themselves. In the tribes' benefit, the city's ways are learned, and the tribes can better trade, speak, and affect the customs of other cultures they've adopted.

They compete with the Black Hand, and will kill them on sight if found in Nest territory. The Nest has been known to use transporters supplied by Interworld Trade and Transport to move kidnapped civilians to interplanar buyers. The Nest often runs afoul of Rust Eater scouts, who patrol the deep parts of Gandahar's sewers, guarding communities of Kenku too weak from the choking spores to defend themselves.

Order of the Dispelling Fist

The Order of the Dispelling Fist is a order of Monks whose only goal is to keep magical items from civilian hands. They have no authority to remove these items from civilians though, and mostly end up preaching in the market to passers-by, asking them to leave all their magical items in their possession for destruction. A select few of their faction, recognizable by their powdered red fists and bald uncovered heads, resort to intimidation and force to remove these items. Small groups of these extremists can be found roaming the streets of Gandahar near arcane establishments in the city. The Order has been hunting down agents of Interworld Trade and Transport, trying to stymie the flow of magic items into the city walls.

The Quorth Syndicate

The Quorth Syndicate is a new criminal group operating in the city. They make most of their money selling information and making people disappear. Word on the street is that they are constantly buying people from slavers, especially well educated ones. Their leader only meets with non-members through proxy and members all seem somewhat 'off' to anyone who knows them.

The leader is an Illithid using mind-reading and mind-control to muscle into the criminal scene. The activities of the Quorth Syndicate have been making some waves and other criminal groups are starting to take note. The Syndicate regularly deals with both the Black hand and the Nest. However, both factions threaten to cease business with the Syndicate if they continue to do business with their rivals, but neither of these factions have made good on the threats.

Rust Eaters

A gang of Kenku, known for red stains that streak their beaks and facial feathers, Rust Eaters are famous for a number of carefully choreographed, high-value thefts.

The ‘rust’ is a parasitic fungus, originating from deep in the city’s sewers. For the young and the strong among the Kenku, the fungus is clarifying, empowering and invigorating, overlaying their intelligence with a sense of purpose. For the elderly and weak, it drowns out their own thoughts with its whispers, and slowly asphyxiates them with stiffening tendrils of rust-colored mycelium.

They have most recently stolen powerful artifacts reclaimed by the Fold of the Seven, and the Relic Seekers, including a dagger containing the soul of a long-dead dragon.

Department Factions

Department factions are generally intertwined and closely related to actual governmental departments. They work together often, and many times government officials also work in these groups. However, the Department Factions are not officially part of the Gandaharian Government.

The Longshoremen

The Longshoremen faction is made up of sailors and craftsmen who support the ships and sailmakers who run the city's docks. The city's dock masters, who are always members of the guild, are responsible for collecting duties on anything passing through the docks into the city, and for blocking the transport of forbidden items. The group has come by some controversy lately as some of the Longshoremen have been accepting payment as matchmakers, arranging meetings between a recently arrived pod of merfolk and wealthy nobles.

The blocking of contraband can be bypassed through the right dock master for those willing to pay the price. As such, several crime syndicates wish to put their own men as the dock master in order to place them on the council. If the proper price is not paid, the Longshoremen often inform the White Dagger of these goods, which are then confiscated. What happens to these goods after they are confiscated has been sometimes questioned.

Military Factions

All of the military factions here are approved by the throne. While their financial backing varies based on the ever-changing political landscape of the city council and noble houses, the majority of common citizens never really see a difference. And as long as they feel safe, they aren't likely to ever know when a faction's loyalty changes.

The White Dagger

This secret police force of assassins is only called upon when the city guard cannot handle a situation or when less-than-lawful actions are required to keep the peace. They are sworn to the city, but have no problems with breaking the law for the greater good. They are so elusive that most of the townsfolk believe they are simply a legend. Those that do know of the White Dagger dare not whisper what they know, because they have all been instructed to remain silent. Recently, after a raid on the black hand territory, they recovered several hats of disguise and use them to maintain anonymity.

Their leader wears the mantle of "The Ghost Knight." He was once a paladin, but has gone rogue from his faith upon finding the city guard could not guarantee the "justice" as well as he could. He is currently training his half-elf daughter to take over as he is human and getting too old.

Initiates, who are themselves far from novices in their fields, are given an ivory-hilt dagger. Only once they've broken the blade of the dagger, which is enchanted to break in a special way under great emotional or physical duress, are they initiated into the group proper. The "pearled" members of the force keep their broken daggers to remember what it's like to have something fail on them when they need it most: something they cannot allow themselves to do.

Nature Factions

Amid the hustle and bustle of life in this metropolis, a few groups are dedicating to preserving what they can of the natural world within the walls of Gandahar.

Nobility

The Great Houses of Gandahar perform vital services for the city, but can often get sucked into the politicking common to nobility. In a city the size of Gandahar, there are a hundred or so noble houses total, but the houses listed below are the Great Houses that are led by a Duke or Duchess. Most of these Houses maintain homes in both the Second Ring district and in the Inner City, and have a complex web of connections, alliances, and emnities.

House Delvier

As Gandahar grew into the current bustling city it is today, it absorbed the lands of several wealthy families; the Delvier's estate on the river that bears their name was one of those. Their ancestral lands have made them rich and bought them the respect of other nobility. House Delvier's assets are based mostly in real estate; they are landlords to a few thousand tenements and a hundred shops, taverns, and inns, including the infamous Bloodhound Tavern.

House Iskander

Originally a barony which was subsumed into Gandahar during the city's early days, House Tskander is one of the smallest noble families in the city. All eight members having embraced vampirism in Year 238 and now feel relieved of the traditional duty to reproduce. For centuries, they have ensured that the city's ordinances permit the residency of lycanthropes, the undead, and faeries as long as they refrain from eating sentient creatures. Most people seem unsure as to what service House Iskander provides to the city, but their advocacy for more "monstrous" races makes them popular in some districts.

House Temeryan

Another prominent player on the political chessboard of Gandahar, Noble House Temeryan is a well known patron of city-wide industrialization, owing most of its fortunes to the precious gem mines on their land. The business of mining natural resources faces unsurprisingly fierce competition from the Shimmershine Family. A competition that House Temeryan has made numerous attempts to hamper.

The Lilac Order

On the surface, the Lilacs are a social organization for the wealthy and powerful of Gandahar to interact and mingle. Their iconic lilac brooches distinguish members from the common rabble of the city. The only way to access is either through birth or through marriage. They will not tolerate illegitimate children, or their parents, among their ranks. Those who are discovered to not be of "true birth" often often disappear under mysterious circumstances shortly thereafter.

They are also trained assassins and spies and make up a good portion of the kingdom's intelligence network. In a strange twist, some of the order are "patrons" of sorts of the conservatory of ruin. The conservatory will grow and keep lilac bushes for the order. They may also do things like sabotage gardens, use trees to destroy the foundations of buildings, grow poisonous plants near potential targets.

The Shimmershine Family

A clan of gnomes live in a small palace in the Inner City. Regarded as great inventors, doctors, and accountants, the Shimmershines are known for financing many public works projects around town. These are an attempt to cover up the fact that they are gnome supremacists and secretly gnomes to always be in control. They form a shadow government and anything happening within the city is not only known by them, but often caused. Recently Shimmershine Family Estate was raided by Night Parade. Aside from a few old accounting books nothing else was reported as stolen.

Political Factions

These factions primarily include civilians that have organized for a political purpose.

The Whistlers in the Dark

An organization of fanatic anarchists, Whistlers have no formal group name. The "name" of the organization is how others refer to them--they don't like hierarchy and don't name themselves, but they tend to wear darker clothing and have a complicated coded whistle to greet each other.

They've managed to convince some younger members of minor noble Houses to fund some of their activities against a rival House, but the nobles won't outright support the organization as they believe showing their hand too early will result in the nobles losing their influence and wealth. Similarly, some of the more disgruntled trade guilds have given some coin to the Whistlers to target competitors.

Guilds

Like factions, Guilds in Gandahar are as diverse as the population. They focus more on filling economic needs than political ones, but also run the gamut of themes and topics. Below are some of the biggest and most well-known guilds in the city.

Each Duke controls a particular branch within the Guild:

Nobody truly knows the Archduke's identity or what they do within the guild on a day to day basis. The most popular theory is that they are a changeling and could be anyone, but it's very clear that they're not someone to be trifled with.

Rumors have increased lately that some aristocrats hire the Silent Knights for assassination jobs. Whether these rumors are true or not, the guild has become a problem and the guards struggle to keep up. Various mages and organizations have begun to try to develop ways to keep the guild out of their homes and businesses through magic, but non seem to have succeeded yet.

High Carpenters and Scaffold-Setter's Union

This lot bases primarily in The Mazelands, and exists as a way for the carpenters and similar laborers to cut out competition from the rest of the city. They have exclusive rights to construct wooden structures beginning above 20-feet high, which is virtually any building project in the teetering morass of the Mazelands.

The Knifemakers

Carrying a straightforward name, ill-fitting of their reputation and actions, the knifemakers more or less function as licensed counterfeiters. While as the name suggests their focus is the design, production and distribution of knives, a simple tool held by many, the truth is they always seek to encroach on other guilds business.

Using whatever technical loophole they can, they aim to produce "knives" for any task. At a time of war, they will produce many very large "knives." During a gold rush, they will instead produce peculiarly flat and rounded "knives" mounted at the end of a shaft. All technically distinct from any other tool of course.

The Psychonaut's Guild

Located in The Mazelands, this is a hobbyist guild for devotees of psychedelics and psionics. The drugs enable an easier transition to the psychic realm, and the Guild members explore the psychic realm as a matter of gaining knowledge, exploring unknown vistas, and attempting to make contact with other psionic beings.

The Guild is exclusive, by-invitation-only, and is tolerated by the Government, who have secretly recruited some of the more powerful Guild members. Grand Ivolenna Vi’zir holds a seat in the guild’s council, with her Sky High serving as a common point of congregation for the guild members to indulge in their craft. Other notable members include Neeban from the purple cloud and Micala Bander is the guild’s greatest supplier of fungal-based curios.

Service Guilds

Gandahar's service sector provides assistance to citizens who need whatever immaterial services they provide. A bustling industry, Ganadhar's economy relies on many of the guilds within this sector to perform a great deal of labor and keep the city running as smoothly as possible.

The Custodian's Guild

The Custodian’s Guild is a catch-all guild for any and all caretakers, laborers, plumbers, street-sweepers, and general maintenance workers who keep Gandahar running smoothly and cleanly. Generally, upon completion of the one-year programs at the College of Public Welfare Magicks, students are automatically recruited for the Custodians’ Guild.

There are four ranks within the guild. The majority of members are simply given the Probationary Custodian (PC) rank. These are the baseline CPWM graduates who go straight from learning their various magicks to the required 5-10 year stint working for the City. The Custodians’ Guild is in charge of sorting these graduates into various departments depending on their strengths, weaknesses, and preferences.

The next rank is Supervisory Custodian (SC). These are the custodians who have stayed on after their mandatory stint and generally work as supervisors or overseers for teams of PCs. The next is High Custodian (HC) that work with smaller teams of SCs. They are the truly exceptional Custodians, the ones who are asked to study longer at the CPWM than the 1 year programs. They have in-depth knowledge of their respective fields, and lead entire departments of custodial work.

There are dozens of High Custodians to lead all of the various departments, but a few of the most important are:

• High Custodian of Sanitation
• High Custodian of General Maintenance
• High Custodian of Parks and Recreation
• High Custodian of Public Works and Inspection
• High Custodian of Walls, Doors, Locks, and Gates
• High Custodian of Roads and Pathways
• High Custodian of Food Production and Inspection

Finally, the Lord Custodian serves as Guildmaster, and leads the whole guild from a large plain building in the College of Public Welfare Magicks. Joss Stonnerth is the current Lord Custodian, a cheery man who takes his job very seriously. He is proficient in all departments, and he loves to get his hands dirty alongside his fellow custodians. As such, he dresses in surprisingly plain clothes, especially when compared with past Lord Custodians. This has made him immensely popular among the other guild members. The Guild has a close relationship with student organization Ex Populi, and they often host job fairs for the club.

Keepers of Fire

A collective of smaller guilds that work in an around anything that involves fire, the Keepers of Fire fill many important niches within Gandahar. This collective includes the Lamp Lighters, who are in charge of maintaining public lighting; the Candlemakers, who craft and supply candles and lantern oil; the Keepers of Sacred Flames, that tend any fires or flames in temples; the Firestarters, who handle the import of timber, coal, and kindling for burning; and the Sweeps, that can be hired to clean chimneys.

Master Cecilia Kepler is the current head of the Keepers of Fire. She oversees all activities and works with the City and other guilds to ensure that lights are lit and fires are hot.

N.O.W.S.T.

The guild name N.O.W.S.T stands for No One Will Starve Tonight. They are a small group of people led by Tereena Upton, a half orc who spends all her time collecting what is not wanted by the rich and passing it down to the poor. Her and her team collect food, drink and clothes and pass them onto the less fortunate in the less savory districts. They recently opened a few shelters for the cold nights. People down on their luck can come and spend a night for no cost.

N.O.W.S.T comes across as a great guild, but secretly is a vampire coven. They use the fake charity front to find the most desperate people, who will not be missed and provide them with a "safe" place to stay. It is the greatest cover as no one cares when a citizen of Dogshit disappears.

Ordent Scribes

A guild of historians, scribes and calligraphers, the Ordent Scribes provide the city’s institutions and merchants with most of their literary needs.

The guild hunts, acquires, and copies every tome of knowledge available and shares it with the world. Except, the Ordent Scribes are an old-as-time secret society, hellbent on rewriting history to pursue their hunger for power. The endless library, which stays hidden in its own demi-plane deep inside the scribes’ guildhall in Gandahar Proper, holds the answers to many of history’s greatest conundrums, unbeknownst to the general populace.

Ratcatcher's Guild

This loose network of individuals form a guild that's pretty much what it sounds like. They catch rats. A large amount of the ratmeat they catch, with the exception of poisoned rats, go to various culinary establishments. They'll catch other animals too, if paid enough.

The Seamstresses

Courtesans, entertainers, streetwalkers, people of the night, escorts, and other titles have all been doled out to the informal association of people offering negotiable affection, colloquially known as The Seamstresses Guild. Their name stems from a (now defunct) law in Gandahar prohibiting solicitation in public. In order to skirt the rules and to avoid questioning by the City Watch the workers started carrying around sewing baskets using different colors of ribbon to denote pricing and services offered. After the law was repealed, the name stuck causing no small amount of mix-ups with actual tailors.

Now based out of The Bad Place (with their own floor no less), The Seamstresses are able to treat clients to a much more comfortable and safe experience complete with set pricing and protection for the workers. Not all of them are members of The Guild, but based on the benefits and rules the group has put in place (and will viciously enforce) the downsides are relatively negligible.

Trade Guilds

While all the guilds in Gandahar heavily contribute to Gandahar's economy, the Trade Guilds specifically focus on filling gaps in the market and banking industries. Anywhere that gold changes hands, there's probably a Trading Guild involved somewhere.

Other Guilds

Finally, there are a few guilds that don't fit nicely into any of the previous categories, but still fill an important role within Gandahar's private and business sectors.

NPCs

Gandahar's population is incredibly diverse, and is home to a vast number of citizens. Most of these people go to work in the various businesses, factions, and guilds mentioned and outlined previously, but many unique and interesting NPCs also exist within the city.

Clergy

Serving the faithful of Gandahar, there are many priests and temples that provide worship space and communion.

Commoners

Gandahari commoners don't usually live a squalid life, but they are certainly not carefree. In a large city of constantly shifting economy, it can be easy to be short of small things. As such, the average person may not be finely groomed, but they're likely well fed; their clothes might not be new, but they're not threadbare. The people often cheery enough, just content getting their daily tasks and chores completed.

Commoners often respond well to throwing a few shiny coins in their direction, although some may ask for some simple favor relevant to their daily routine, especially if old or injured. Grand promises or calls to a higher power are unlikely to sway them.

Fat Aunt Sally

This benign Beholder dwells in the Mazelands, where she runs a brothel. Drawn to highly charismatic people, she is a "serial seducer" and will make love with any species that will have her. She loves a good dirty joke, but will not abide jokes about her eyestalks.

Fat Aunt Sally has enlisted The Slaver's Guild on more than one occasion to check off another box on her lengthy list of races to bed with. Not one to force herself onto others though, she relies on her charm and seductive ways to try and keep her acquired beings in her domain and let them willingly choose to know her.

Fergie the Dockboy

This hardworking dock boy lives in a crate by The Docks. He's willing to pick up and carry anyone's boxes under the dubious belief that the harder you work, the more you are appreciated. Despite his work, he lives a rather squalid life, using a batch of fishing nets as a blanket.

Abandoned as a child, he was raised by a kind and loving barmaid, and has developed into an upstanding, albeit poor, gentleman. Fergie wants to be the dock manager, but he can't, someone in the same position as him has been chosen, for being more likable.

Greer the Falconer

Greer is a 39 year old human male with three parallel scars on his left cheek just below his eye. He has grey eyes and long brown hair; the beginnings of male pattern baldness are clearly evident. Greer is typically seen sporting a waxed black overcoat and a beaked plague doctor's mask due to his usual proximity to the "bad" air of the Quarantine district. From a distance he is often mistaken for a Kenku. He has a kooky personality, a strong stutter, and a lack of hygiene that have led to most Gandahari avoiding him like the plague he protects them from.

He spends most of his time either patrolling the wall surrounding the quarantine district, or tending to his birds. Greer was hired by the city to keep wild birds and rodents from leaking the disease contained within the Quarantine District. He does so with the help of some well trained birds of prey: eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls. These efficient guardians can be seen circling above the district, swooping down to attack any creature entering or leaving the district. Instead of eating their prey, he has trained the birds to drop them back into the quarantined area.

Recently curiosity has gotten the best of Greer, and he has started collecting some of the "contaminated" bird and rodent specimens caught by his feathered companions. He views himself as a self-educated plague doctor in addition to an avian expert. His residence on the top floor of the Aviot Perch can be found littered with anatomy books, sketches, dissected birds and rodents, and vials with some interesting looking contents. Being one of only denizens of Gandahar legally allowed to walk the walls of the quarantine district, he knows the layout of the district very well; at least the parts he can see from atop the wall.

Ibrahim Al-Nasur

Coming from a land far south of Gandahar, Ibrahim is a weird man. He frequents taverns around the Adventure Guild where he keeps an eye out for new adventurers offering them tasks under the table. His employees have a high tendency to die, but the money is often worth the risk.

Ibrahim is a tall human with bronze skin, dark hair, and short beard. He's nearly 85 years old, but appears closer to his early 40s due to some magical effects that reduced his age.

John Lacey

John Lacy always questions what he's doing in the world while he begs on the streets. He has no marketable skills, but wants to learn; everyday he picks up new tricks from people he meets in an attempt to work his way up somewhere.

He's a half elf with shaggy black hair that is usually dirty and tangled. Much like his hair, his clothes and face are also always dirty. He had a normal childhood but realized that he didn't want to do anything and started doing drugs. He spiraled for awhile, but has started trying to clean up what he can. Though he is still homeless and begs to get by, he does his best; he can teach people tons of small tricks for a few copper. And, although he doesn't know it, he's actually immune to whatever plague infests the Quarantine.

Ko Rainboom

Ko is an orc bard of significant stature. Standing nearly 8 feet tall and with arms the size of tree trunks, he is not the kind of guy to get into a tavern brawl with. He can typically stays at one of several run down taverns in Dogshit. Besides his large frame, what really makes Ko stand out is his ability to play the drums. The deep tribal sound of his music accompanied by his guttural lyrics, can coax even the most relaxed bar patrons into a state of rage. Following his performances, riots have been known to break out, eventually forcing their way out of Dogshit into the First Ring.

Maratano Salvantani "The Alchemist"

A human from the empire, Maratano came to Gandahar expecting to find a job and get his life started, but after witnessing the corruption in the city, he became an adamant supporter of anarchy and freedom. Joining The Whistlers in the Dark, his skill with explosives quickly made him infamous. Marak is charismatic and believes in true freedom and equality, but isn't as extreme as other members of his faction.

A tall human man in his mid 30s, Maratano has golden hair and blue eyes. He has a majestic golden beard that covers his scars, and a welcoming smile. He is an incredibly caring person that helps anyone with lower social standing. His beliefs and charisma make him popular among the poorer citizens, who view him as a folk hero, but many city officials view him as a terroristic entity.

Munder Connison

This soft-spoken and comely 40 year old human druid wears simple garb and always carryies a feathered staff. His leathery hands are those of a farmer and his smile is that of a friend, but his lined eyes belie both great wisdom and great pain. After a particularly disastrous contract with the Gandaharian Exploratory Society, which resulted in a necromancer destroying his home village, Munder retired from adventuring and settled in Salsborough.

He became known for his habit of adopting orphans, telling stories, and offering unsolicited advice. After a neighbor commented on his growing family, he nailed a sign to the front of his house and began expanding it in every dimension there was room for, and that was that. He works closely with the Golden Ladle, and helps orphaned children and teens build honest skills.

Scarlet Scarlett

A woman of negotiable affection and notorious appetites, Scarlet Scarlett can always be picked out by her taste in red dresses and her great height. Scarlet Scarlett found an interesting loophole into joining the Lilac Order when she was of a young marrying age. The Lilac Order, with their staunch rules against letting in any non-blood or illegitimate children, never seemed to have any hard fast rules on being excommunicated once divorced. All it took was some fluttering of the eyes, taking care of her tall figure, and getting a young man of the Lilac Order to fall head over heels for her.

When she divorced her spouse after gaining full membership in the Lilac Order, there was talk over kicking her out or even disposing of her, but they could not deny that when it came to intelligence gathering and assassinations, she was better than anyone else in her generation of the Order. As such, Scarlet Scarlett stands as the only member of the Lilac Order not connected by legality or blood. This allows her to forgo the formalities of nobility and mingle among the commoners and treat her appetite for fancy dresses without anyone threatening to pull her inheritance.

Sweet Charlie

Sweet Charlie is a goblin whose greatest aspiration in life is to cook. He is a bit of a savant when it comes to desserts, creating incredible confectionery goods, delectable puddings, and more. He draws inspiration from things that he finds as he walks through the city; piles of trash, compost, and other refuse mostly. His famous black truffle chocolate mousse came to him after he was thrown in a pig pen one night. He has gotten a little work here and there, mostly in the lower city since the watch in the high districts usually attack goblins on sight. He's become something of a public secret among the low and middle class of Gandahar. He's been allowed to work a few festival events, though after the disaster at the Hidden Depths (a brothel in Gandahar Low) he has never been allowed to prepare or serve any main course dishes.

Tiktiktik

Named for the noise he makes while scuttling, Tiktiktik is a scorpion who was accidentally enlarged and made sentient when a spell cast by a member of The Vial was mis-chanted. Sadly, the mistake was never recorded given its irrelevance to their search for immortality, leaving Tiktiktik no chance of breaking the enchantment. He seems to have accepted his lot in life, and now sells his stinger poison to assassins who prefer "organic" toxins. He communicates by scratching on a tablet in Common, which he can understand but not speak. He would be willing to do any number of favors for someone who could grant him the ability to speak, as he wishes eventually to find a mate, settle down, and raise a brood of half-scorpion sons.

Tiefling Zak

Tiefling Zak's origins are unknown, but this popular cambion is known to share a new long, tragic, and entirely made up backstory to everyone who asks him. Though he is missing his right horn and his left hand, he is extremely skilled with his prehensile tail, able to wield a cocktail shaker or dagger with ease. He is happy, but slightly embarrassed by his burgeoning relationship Aasimon.

Tiefling Zak is always happy to see new people and help them indulge in their vice of interest. He is secretive, and often uses ridiculous lies to get around topics he does not want to speak about. Zak treats people very well but actively tries to hide the fact that he is actually a nice guy. When idle, Zak can be seen playing with a copper piece at the tip of his tail. He rarely drops it, but when he does he leaves it there for some more unfortunate soul to find later and hopefully cheer them up a little.

Tim and Tam

These halfling brothers are members of the Clearbrook Collective. Tam is a healer who is skilled in mundane medicine and his older brother Tim is more of a clerical administrator that documents incoming and outgoing patients, keeps track of the local census, and is the financial officer for their clinic.

Vort, the Undead Barkeep

Vort was dead once. It is strange how little he remembers of his past life once he is brought back to it after a while. What Vort never lets himself forget, is the immeasurable debt of gratitude he has for the Navel Iskander, man who granted him a second chance at life.

Friendly and good-humored, Vort can be oftentimes heard telling the same old joke to some traveling adventurers, who sometimes are a little befuddled by his slightly macabre appearance. He pays his debt by taking care of the Pale Tina Inn with all of his soul. Vort has zero tolerance for vandals and troublemakers, which he makes clear by occasionally dusting-off the beautifully carved crossbow, hanging on the wall behind the counter.

Yophina Millbridge

A halfling woman in her late thirties, Yophina has auburn brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail, a studious looking face, and notably defined muscles for a halfling. Working as a private detective around the Tumbledown, Yophina is well known around town, but doesn't have much in the way of friends. In fact, the only real relationship that she has is with an immobile, barely functioning Warforged named Prints that lives with her in her small office above a tavern off of Knife Street. Prints once saved Yophina's life, but was destroyed in the process. She feels obligated to repair him, but it has proven costly for one living in the Tumbledown and Prints tests her nerves more every day.

Zandy

An optimistic and pleasant youth who wants very badly to be a hero some day, Zandy will never turn down a task, nor turn his nose at a chore or duty. Zandy is on the threshold of manhood and might be handsome one day, but for now he’s a bit awkward looking. Zandy always seems to find the most heroic bunch in the city, and follow them around, offering navigation, friendship and on-the-nose small village wisdom at the right moment. Everyone likes Zandy.

Criminals

A city the size of Gandahar is bound to have an extensive criminal network operating in the shadows and under the streets. From drug dealers, to cons, to thieves, to traffickers, Gandahar has it all. A few notable criminal NPCs without distinct ties to any of the criminal factions are outlined below.

Sawtooth the Lasher

Sawtooth is a goblin and counts himself among many others in Slaver's Pen, and despite his small stature is often seen bereft of guards or security. Those in the Pen note that the slaves he brings in are adventurer level quality, and only shows up when he has quality stock up for sale.

Despite his job and race, Sawtooth is very congenial; often buying rounds for people at The Last Drop Distillery well into the night. He trained in hand to hand combat and uses his knowledge of pressure points and ki flow to capture Adventurers when they're on missions. Sawtooth has worked with The Slaver's Guild on multiple occasions and, though he generally works by himself, when the special orders come in, he's the first the guild reaches out to.

Serpenthelm

The notorious leader of the Slaver's Guild, Serpenthelm's only goal is to be feared. When he arrived in Gandahar, he realized just how lucrative trafficking could be here.

Serpenthelm leads the Slaver's Pen underneath the Ruby Palace. He only ever appears in a flowing black outfit that conceals his entire body; nobody knows his race for sure because of this, and he clearly disguises his voice around other people here. He has a few magic items including amulet that changes the wearer's voice, a whip once used by drow, a black invisibility cloak and a scimitar made of fire.

He maintains leadership of the Guild through stealth and cunning, using his invisibility cloak and his famed anonymity to learn about the groups and lieutenants within the Guild, and keep his opponents at odds with one another, never unified enough to pose a real threat to his leadership.

Extraplanar NPCs

While the general population consists mostly of humanoids, Gandahar is home to a handful of powerful creatures from outside the Material Plane. These creatures fill a host of different roles.

Zselbor

The pit fiend proprietor of The Crossroad Inn, informal ambassador of the Nine Hells, souls-dealer and brewer of fine ales, Zselbor runs the only extraplanar neutral demiplane within Gandahar. Affably and almost jovially evil, he adds not only a 25% tax on any ale served to visiting celestials, but also forged quite a few pacts with a number of nobles, arcanists and otherwise high-ranking officials within the city of Gandahar. He also enjoys chess, and takes every sixth day of the week off to garb don a magical diguise and play for six hours at a chess club located on The High Brow.

Zselbor seeks promotion, like any devil, and believes he can achieve this by turning the city of Gandahar into an outpost of Hell on the Material Plane through contracts with guilds, the Nobility, and the average citizen.

Nobility

While the Nobility are considered their own faction, and general overviews of the Houses have been included, details of the most interesting Nobility are included below.

Merchants

Beyond the shopkeeps and tavern owners listed alongside their establishments, Gandahar's markets also teem with merchants and traders.

Nico Andromedus

A tabaxi merchant and occasional adventurer, Nico Andromedus now wanders the world as a traveling merchant, selling magical weapons and items that he came across in his adventures. He still adventures on occasion if there is an item that he can appropriate, but prefers to hire other younger and more expendable adventurers to get it for him. He has a magical cart, called, "The Sand Strider" that is much much larger on the inside then it seems from the outside.

Nico looks like a humanoid lion, with a beautiful mane of hair that has several braids in it. He wears expensive clothes with flowing blue and gold sleeves. His deep baritone voice has a mysterious air, and he often speaks in circles or riddles.

He doesn't stay inside the city for very long, as he doesn't want to attract the attention of House Temeryan. A few years ago, there was an extremely embarrassing event involving catnip, a belt of many pockets, one of the Temeryian's adult children, three mages and the entirety of the Gandahar's Philharmonic Orchestra. He does his best to not think about it, and not many remember the event.

Raga Feyleaf

This elderly elf used to be an adventurer, but now sells blown-glass sculptures and trinkets. Raga may have once been lithe and slim, but has clearly enjoyed the success of his business and skill. His craftsmanship is unparalleled, and many locals pay top coin for his beautiful work.

Military & Sailing

As a major port city, any notable people involved with sailing or the military are people that the City likes to keep close in case of a major threat. Some of these NPCs are listed below.

Other NPCs

In a city the size of Gandahar, there are many people that don't particularly fit in any of the previous categories. These remaining NPCs can help to flesh out gaps in the city.

Ir-Kaid Mahet

A mage hunter working for The White Dagger, Ir-Kaid learned how to use the arts of counterspelling after leaving his temple. He uses his abilities to counter magical effects and then fight in melee with his fists. Ir-Kaid has suffered many injuries in his line of work, leaving him with a grotesque scar across his face.

Secret

A magical cat with a smooth, gray coat and bright blue eyes, Secret keeps to herself for the most part, despite being telepathic and fully capable of communicating with anyone. She sometimes likes to tag along with adventurers if she finds them interesting, and might help them out without letting on to her magical nature. She has a few spells she's capable of casting using the magical ring clamped onto her tail. She's a smooth gray egyptian blue with stormy gray eyes.

The Sleeper

The Sleeper awakened in the Fungal Gloam with nary a memory or clue to guide him. A young half-elven man, he discovered, upon reaching the city proper, that most could not understand him. Fortunately, a member of the Conservatory saw him, understood his words as druidic, and brought him into the fold. He discovered his own druidic powers and innate connection to nature, with an interesting fungal slant.

In truth, he has a greater connection to the Circle of Spores than he realizes. He was dead down there in the Fungal Gloam. The spores entered his body and raised him, figuratively and literally, granting him his powers and turning his lifeless body into an undead vessel of sorts. The Sleeper is the first human host of The Sickness, and as the Sleeper moves through him, it learns of Gandahar and its purpose within the city.

Events & Festivals

The people of Gandahar all enjoy celebration, and many citizens will look for any excuse to do so. Throughout the year, Gandahar hosts several major events, festivals, and holy days to allow the people a chance to celebrate all that the city has to offer.

Yellow Harvest

A yearly festival to celebrate the harvest of grain and other produce this festival's name carries a strange double entendre. While the less romantic citizens will tell you the "yellow" comes simply from the colours of harvest crops, some will spin great tales of a "hero" that abandoned an old war effort to attend to the farms, and as such was labelled "yellow." His efforts, however, saved the city from near-certain starvation once the war was over.

Holidays

Official holidays are recognized by the City government and include themes like civil recognition, farming festivals, or vigils to remember the lost.

Religions

Gandahar is home to temples for many common deities, but it also has a few unique religious sects that aren't often found anywhere else.

Inscribed Order

A cult of Iyuzath, ancient true-neutral god of envy and secrets. His worship is outlawed in every known civilization, forcing his worshipers to stay hidden from its prying eyes. If on a quiet and misty evening you come across an old traveler, dressed in rugs and smiling widely with a mouth of few decrepit teeth, make haste to walk away without as much as looking. But if he has already asked you something, no matter how confidential it may be, my boy, you’d better answer quickly and with uncompromising honesty.

The Dragon's Gamblers

The Dragon's Gamblers, also referred to as Tiamat's Gamblers, the Chancers, or just simply The Gamblers, are a religious group that believe in divine intervention in gambling. Every pull of a card, roll of a dice, or lottery number chosen is just another small way of letting Tiamat's will seep into the Material Plane. The more randomness, the stronger her influence.

Avid practitioners among The Dragon's Gamblers will meet once a month and gamble away their earnings in a weird white elephant gift exchange with each other, and that very same prize pool will be added to and used for the next month's meeting. Most of the Dragon's Gamblers keep their identity a secret because of the negative association with Tiamat. But a keen eye can tell who the members of the religion are because of their life styles, such as Sapphire Pawses of The Scholarly Reserves.