Toreala

[Macabrevity]

Toreala is an old city which has fallen into decay. The majority of its streets are either ruins, or sprawling slums, although the center itself continues to thrive. Its economy relies on goods which can’t be as easily purchased in the sovereign city-states to the south, not only rare goods, but illegal as well.

Toreala has a mixed population (total pop 8,000) of which roughly 20% are indigenous Rialdhic Nomads (these are humans with vastly different cultural roots and origins than those to the south). A wide variety of all the intelligent races can be found here, and although they intermingle in the markets and centers, a lot of the outlying slums are dedicated to one particular group or another. The government is an oligarchy, usually having a token overlord who claims some long distant bloodline to the Rialdhic city-founders.

The legal system is a harsh one, which often punishes both the accuser and the accused equally, thus most matters tend be be settled personally. With the wide variety of illegal trade guilds, tribal war clans, militant racial groups, rogue mages, rich asylum seekers, and would-be fugitives, its amazing that total chaos doesn’t break out in the streets. Although the city has its own militia, it would be able to do very little were a full pitched war to break out between any of the various factions. It is not public knowledge exactly how the government keeps the peace, but keep the peace they do....or at the very least, they maintain a certain balance.

[Macabrevity]

Here is the key to the numbered map:

Places in Toreala


1 – Used for open markets mostly, although Toreala has been known to stage the occassional festival large enough to spill over from the city center.

2 – Inn of the Fallen Unicorn; A large dirty tavern, often overflowing with guests.

3 – Belver’s Stables; You can park your own horse here.....or rent one of his (if you can afford the deposit).

4 – Half-Orc slum; The loud drumming of the shamans can be heard through the night and well into the early morning.

5 – Residential; Toreala’s version of a middle class neighborhood. Mostly human but also some halfling population as well.

6 – Wharehouses; Industrial section.

7 – Residential & Tent City (Halflings); Halfling slum. Home to a number of militant halfling groups.

8 – Gardens / The Tilted Rose; A very expensive Tavern, that caters to an extremely elite clientele. It is said that they can satisfy even the most exotic of tastes.

9 – Mead Hall / Museum and Preservation; This is a sort of Rialdhic historical site, complete with tour guides, and artifacts. They don’t make any money as a curiosity, but are government supported. Along with this cultural preservation, is a movement to preserve the ancient tongue. Classes in Rialdhic can be attended here for a small donation.

10 – A few shops line this road, along with some residential property. Among the shops are Calipso’s herbs and teas; Bogdar (a local wood carver who does portraits); The Burnt Bun (a bakery, what else?); and Thelissa (a seamstress).

11 – Ampitheater & Temple of Oldimmara

12 – Toreala city center / Market Stalls

13 – Church of Thought; A group of plainly adorned priests reside here, claiming allegiance to no god.

14 – Hall of the Council; All the major government offices can be found here, with the exception of the overlords manor. (The manor lies 3 miles to the north of the city, on a hill known as Tarpha).

15 - Bells N' Whistles: A general goods store which deals in basic supplies. Rumor is that they sell more than just what's on the shelves.

16 – Estate; Benderbuss (human).

17 – Parvik's House of Jasper: A shop customizing in valuable stones and jewelry. Parvik is an old gnome, who has run this shop for as long as anyone can remember, "been 'roun a lot longer 'n you 'ave" he is often heard saying.

18 – Estate; Loriamon (half-elf)

19 – Eugrid Hauser: He's a smith, who runs a small smithy out of the barn in his back yard. He has a wife and 5 kids. He's known to work on anything from horse shoes to plate mail....

20 – Guard house; Members of the city guard can be found here, although the bulk of the militia is made up of normal citizens.

[Macabrevity]

A brief history;

Long ago (thousands of years), much of these lands were inhabited by nomads, wandering around, following the migrations of their various food sources. The legends tell of a schism between two great leaders, one a mighty hunter, the other a medicine man who had a vision of a dying Black Wyrm. In his vision, the gods told him to lead the people East, until they came to a the place of the dying Dragon. If they would stop and build there, they would reap the harvest of the Gods. The hunter, who had led the tribes through famine, disease, and war was jealous that the Gods would bypass him, and hand the people over to this medicine man. The two fought, and eventually split the tribes in half. It is said that Toreala (meaning in the ancient tongue - death gives birth) was the place of the ancient and dying Black.

Today Toreala is a city of refugees, mestizos, soujourners, and misfits. With very little commerce, its frontier and almost anarchic style of life, is what attracts people and keeps the city alive.

[Hussar]

((Heh, photobucket is your friend))

Toreala

[Macabrevity]

Bells and Whistles:

This is a large wharehouse style store, with rows and rows of crates, barrels, and shelves (most of which are bare). The store is generally fairly quiet, and it can sometimes be quite difficult to get someones attention. Once a customer does find either the proprietor, or an employee, they can give an order, and then they are usually stuck waiting as long as it takes to find whatever they wanted to purchase.

Most basic items are 10% discount from the list in the PHB. We don't need to RP every scene here, so if your characters needs to pick up some gear, post it in the PbP, and if I don't mention otherwise, we'll assume you got what you ordered at 10% off.

If you're looking for armor or weapons, or alchemical components/items then you might want to go somewhere else. Bells and Whistles does carry these items, but they are mostly 2nd hand. We can RP these scenes, to see if you can find what you're looking for.

If you are looking for something a little unusual, then we'll definitely role play the scene.