The City

The City is the (currently unnamed) hub of the Dark Mod setting. There are lots of other cities where mappers could create stories, but our focus has been on this one.

Overview

The city is a vast, sprawling port city, built atop a hill at the mouth of a river. It existed as a small town even before the birth of the empire--at least six centuries ago. It is home to many powerful aristocratic and merchant families, who have gained wealth through lucrative shipping contracts. Almost all sea trade is offloaded in the city for transfer to riverboats, which sail up the (unnamed) river to other ports in the empire.

Generations ago the city was an important part of the empire, but that empire has been in a long decline and is now concerned primarily with protecting the distant capital from rampant babarian invasions. The city has been largely left to rule itself since then, and has lucrative trade (legal and illegal) with enemies of the old empire. A tempting target for other nations, the city has had to fight several fierce naval battles over the years to keep from being conquered.

The city is fairly isolated from overland travel because of the vast wilderness that surrounds it. This wilderness is full of pagan tribes and dangerous creatures. Most travel to the city comes by riverboat, from the sea, or along specially guarded 'Builder Roads'.

Physical Description

The city is one of the largest in the known world, with over one million inhabitants. Vast and sprawling, most who live there go their whole lives without seeing just how expansive it is. Having been built and rebuilt over the centuries, much of the city is a confusing maze of narrow streets and alleyways.

Each time the city grew beyond its defensive walls, a new wall was added, encircling a new district. After many centuries, there are now more than a dozen walled districts, each connected like a honeycomb to the others. While some districts grew and prospered and were modernized over the years, others did not.

Because districts were built and rebuilt over time, the older districts atop the hill have a city beneath the city. Subterranean crypts and passages abound, and are used as secret highways or meeting places for societies of Necromancers and thieves.

There is a saying in the city, "Wealth rises to the top" (or "Shit floats to the top", depending on who you ask). Both refer to the fact that the wealthier and more modern districts lie atop the hill overlooking the ocean. The Builders' Grand Cathedral, the City Council Chambers, and the Guild Halls of the Inventor's Guild, and the mansions of many of the wealthier inhabitants are all located there. The further you go from the hill and the port districts, the poorer and more foul the districts tend to get.

Districts of Note

The Flood Ward: One district on the coast began to flood at high tide four decades ago, and is now permanenty half submerged. Abandoned by honest folk, it has become a haven for smugglers, thieves, and Pagans, who prefer to stay away from the city watch and builder patrols.

The Pagan District: (coming)

The Plague Ward: About two decades ago, a deadly plague erupted in a district on the opposite side of the river. In a panic, the people quarrentined the entire district, barring the great gates and walling up the exits. People moved away from homes close to the walls, leaving them abandoned. To this day the district remains walled up. It took a decade for anyone to even consider opening the district again, but the fear of releasing the plague once more--not to mention the stories of damned spirits seeking vengence--have kept that from happening. The area surrounding the district continues to be virtually abandoned as well, lived in only by the desperate or those seeking sinister privacy.