[Information] World Info, Houserules, etc

[Zagros]

Game Name Thieves of Sarrapan

Game System DnD 2e

Theme Thieves in the city

Flavour Moderately gritty, but not excessively dark

Plot Summary The Imperial City of Sarrapan stands astride the mouth of the Serpent River, home to 130,000 souls and the center of the Cedar Empire. More than thrice the size of the next largest city in the world, Sarrapan truly is the cultural, economic, and social center of the known world. In the East City, the wealthy South Ward flows into the Grove, a sprawling park-like neighborhood home to some of the most cosmopolitan (relatively, anyway!) elves in the world. Goods are shipped to and from distant shores and cities from the numerous piers of the East Docks. Across the wide flow of the Serpent, the West Docks cater to a rougher, less polished crowd before giving way to the industry of the city: tanners, chandlers, and other smelly industry stands where the prevailing southwest winds will blow away from the East City. Most of the city’s poor live here, barely scratching out a life in the gutter of existence. Just before the waters of the Serpent reach Incir Bay stands the solitary hill of the Island, home of Emperor Credoc IV, Sovereign of Sarrapan, Lord of the Eastern Isles, and Protector of Varim. Thousands of souls live and work on the island, administering the Empire in Credoc’s name. Somewhere in this vast city stands a nondescript house. A particular person lives there, living an apparently nondescript life. Beneath the surface, that person holds strings the stretch across the river and in all directions radiating from that house. Those threads touch a multitude of lives, and the person plays them like a master fiddler. This person controls a vast underground organization, and their power, and wealth, is significant.

Game This is intended to be a game for thieves. I’m open to about any character type you might find in or near a large city. Since thieves tend to be loners, I’d like to run 3 or 4 individual (solo) campaigns with occassional intersection when their stories line up to join temporarily (or permanently) at the players' option. Like many large cities, there is a strong thieves guild which every character will run into, but won’t be railroaded (too much!) into joining.

[Zagros]

Religion in Sarrapan is a fairly casual affair, with few residents making a point of regular attendance at any kind of organized observances. Priestly classes are, of course, the exception. Individual chapels and churches abound; within any reasonably populated area you can find some kind of shrine to each of the fourteen major deities listed here. In smaller villages that cannot support multiple churches, the clergy generally act as neutral representatives of all the deities in this pantheon. Toron, Norich, and Uldium are generally regarded as the three chief gods.

While active participation in services is unusual, there is a vibrant recognition that each deity is supreme in its area. Sailors frequently toss a coin to Norich when they leave port, and farmers recognize Toron, Jurana, and Norich at each planting in hopes of good weather through the season and a plentiful harvest.

Toron – Sky god, including weather, the sun, and stars

Arragun – Fire, workmanship, and the hearth

Donio – War and slaughter

Cheng – Knowledge, healing, and music

Argochan – Something of a benevolent saint. Argochan was an emperor of Randor about 600 years ago. Son and sucessor declared him to be divine shortly after his death. Not recognized outside lands not at one time controlled by Randor. Sarrapan is the exception... while never a part of the Randor empire, so many people have come to Sarrapan that you may frequently run across his followers. Worship of Argochan is strongly discouraged, as one of the tenant's of his church is the restoration of the Randor empire, much of which is now controlled by Sarrapan.

Silphius – Wilderness and hunting

Suma – Marriage, home, and family

Jurana – Agriculture, wine, and harvest

Boral – Travelers, commerce, athletics and thieves

Riolis – The ideal man and advocate of humans among the gods. Legend holds that he was a man in ancient history, and his heroic exploits so impressed the gods that they elevated him to godhood

Burana – Wisdom, crafts, education, and prophesy

Lisola – Love and beauty

Norich – Sea, rivers, earthquakes and floods

Uldium – Underworld and death

Other races have their own deities, of course, though they tend to reflect this listing with the exception that Riolis is replaced by an ideal of their own race, and Argochan is not recognized at all.