[Information] Places in Sandpoint

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Most of the buildings in Sandpoint are made of wood, with stone foundations and wood shingle roofs. The majority are single-story structures, with a few noted exceptions. The town is often thought of as two districts by the locals. Uptown consists of areas 1–12. Most of these buildings are relatively new, and the streets are open and less crowded. This section of town is also physically above the rest, situated on a level bluff overlooking the southern half of town, which consists of areas 13–46. The majority of the town’s buildings can be found downtown, which grows increasingly crowded as available space is claimed by new arrivals. Downtown is built on a gentle slope that runs from a height of about 60 feet above sea level to the west down to only a few feet above the waterline to the east and south.

Sandpoint Harbor is a fairly deep natural harbor, 30 feet for most of its expanse, with sharply rising slopes near the shore. The languid waters of the Turandarok River wind down from the hinterlands, skirting Devil’s Platter to empty into the harbor—the river is often used to transport lumber harvested far upriver down to the local saw mill. South of town rises another bluff on which Sandpoint’s most affluent landowners have staked their claims.

Only a few hundred feet north of town rises an upthrust spur of rocky land topped with a few trees—this is known now as Chopper’s Isle, once the home to Sandpoint’s most notorious criminal. A remote outcropping accessible only by flight or by a skilled climber, locals now believe the isle to be haunted by Chopper’s ghost. Children often dare each other to go out to the isle’s base at low tide and touch the barren cliff face that surrounds it, but no one’s visited the top in years.

The sight that strikes all visitors to Sandpoint at first is the ruins of the Old Light. The original height of this tower is unknown, but those who have studied the ancient architecture of the crumbling remains estimate it might have stood more than 700 feet tall. Today, less than a quarter of that remains. The Old Light rises from sea level and is built into the face of a 120-foot-tall cliff, the tower extending another 50 feet above that level to culminate in ragged ruins. The remaining shell is yet another reminder that neither the Chelaxians nor the Varisians are the first settlers of this land, yet apart from a few badly weathered carvings signifying that the peak of this tower once held a brilliant light, no insight to the tower’s true purpose remains.

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1. Sandpoint Cathedral
Easily the largest building in Sandpoint, this impressive cathedral is also the town’s newest structure. Built over the foundations of the previous chapel, Sandpoint Cathedral is not dedicated to the worship of a single deity. Rather, it gathers under its eaves the six most commonly worshiped deities in the region, providing chapels for all of these deities in a communal forum. In a way, Sandpoint Cathedral is six different churches under one impressive roof.

Yet even the previous chapel wasn’t the first holy site in this location. The core of both the original chapel and the new cathedral is an open-air courtyard surrounding a set of seven standing stones themselves surrounding a circular stone altar. These stones served the Varisians for centuries as a place of worship; they generally venerated Desna at these stones . Varisian oral tradition maintains that the seven stones represent the seven towers of Desna’s otherworldly palace.

The original chapel built here was a collection of six different shrines, each its own building and connected to the others by open-air walkways. Desna’s worship was incorporated into these shrines as part of the peace accord with the local Varisians, but the original builders also incorporated five other deities as well. Four of these (Abadar, Sarenrae, Shelyn, and Gozreh) were patrons of the original founders of the Sandpoint Mercantile Consortium, while the fifth, Erastil, was the most popular among
the initial settlers.

When the chapel burnt to the ground five years ago, Mayor Deverin set into motion a bold initiative. Not only would the chapel be rebuilt, but it would be done on a grand scale. A cathedral would be built in place of the chapel, and it would be made of stone and glass. Funding for this project came partially from the founding families, partially from Sandpoint businesses eager to earn favor in the eyes of the gods, and partially from the respective churches. It took years to finish the cathedral, but the end result is truly impressive. To the south, facing Sandpoint’s heart, are the shrines of civilization: Erastil and Abadar. To the west, offering a view of the Old Light and the sea beyond, are the shrines of Shelyn and Gozreh. And to the east, offering a view of the Sandpoint Boneyard and the rising sun, are the shrines of Sarenrae and Desna.

The previous chapel hosted less than a dozen acolytes, led by a well-loved cleric named Ezakien Tobyn, who sadly perished in the fire that claimed the church. The new high-priest of Sandpoint is his most accomplished student, a pleasant man named Abstalar Zantus. Himself a worshiper of Desna, Abstalar is very open about matters of faith and has slipped into the role of adviser for worshipers of other gods of Sandpoint with ease.

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2. Sandpoint Boneyard
Set in the shadow of the Sandpoint Cathedral and accessible via a gate to the north or from several doors leading into the cathedral itself, this expansive cemetery overlooks the Turandarok River. Stone vaults owned by affluent members of the town stand near the cemetery’s edges or at its center, while dozens of humble plots, each marked with a simple gravestone, sit amid trees and shrubberies. The boneyard is well-maintained, kept by a man named Naffer Vosk, a deformed smuggler Father Tobyn took pity on after his ship wrecked just north of town a decade ago. Naffer has found redemption in Sarenrae, and despite a twisted spine that, from birth, has given him a sinister lurching gait, he’s one of the town’s most devout citizens. He keeps the boneyard meticulously clean and is also responsible for ringing the church bells every day at dawn, noon, and dusk.

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3. The White Deer
A pair of wooden life-sized deer, carved with painstaking care from white birch, stand astride the entrance to this sizable tavern and inn. The White Deer commands an impressive view of the Varisian Gulf to the north. The building is new, recently rebuilt after the previous inn at this location burnt to the ground five years ago in the same fire that destroyed the Sandpoint Chapel. The new building is a grand affair, three stories tall with a stone first floor and wooden upper floors with a dozen large rooms that can accommodate two to three guests each.

A somber and quiet Shoanti man named Garridan Viskalai owns the White Deer and runs the place with the aid of his family and a few local girls. Although his parents were
members of the Shriikirri-Quah tribe, they abandoned their ties to settle in Sandpoint. Garridan regrets their choice, but his love for his wife and family keeps him rooted firmly in town.

Eager to encourage visitors to stay at his inn, Garridan keeps the prices of his rooms and board low, matching those of the Rusty Dragon (area 37) despite the fact that his accommodations are much cleaner and more spacious. Still, his gruff attitude tends to make his establishment less popular than the Dragon. Garridan is the brother of Sandpoint’s sheriff, Belor Hemlock, although the two of them are in a long-running feud stemming from what Garridan sees as his brother’s complete abandonment of Shoanti tradition.

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4. The Way North
As with several other buildings in the vicinity, this one-story structure was recently rebuilt after the Sandpoint Fire. Originally a stable, the building has been converted by its owner, an aged but spry gnome named Veznutt Parooh, into a cramped and cluttered library to house his tremendous collection of maps and sea charts. Maps of local regions, from the immediate vicinity up to the whole of Varisia and the Storval Plateau, can be purchased from him for prices ranging from 5 gp to 100 gp, depending on the size and level of detail. When not here crafting copies of old maps, Veznutt can usually be found arguing over history with his best friend Ilsoari at Turandarok Academy (area 27).

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5. Jeweler
This squat stone building escaped the fire that ravaged northern Sandpoint, much to the relief of its owner, a wild-haired jeweler named Maver Kesk. Maver retains a half dozen
local toughs as guards, but he has a habit of leaving doors and vaults open—a trait his wife Pennae Kesk often berates him for publicly.

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6. Junker’s Edge
Garbage gathered by Gorvi’s boys (see area 7) is routinely dumped over the edge of this cliff to gather on the beach below. Several of the town’s Gozreh worshipers (in particular Hannah Velerin; see area 45) rankle at this practice, but until an equally cost-effective and convenient option is presented, the town council is reticent to change its ways. In any event, the sea generally makes short work of the junk, ensuring it never piles up too high.

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7. Gorvi’s Shack
This dilapidated shack is home to one of Sandpoint’s few half orcs, a fat, heavily tattooed lummox named Gorvi. Despite the ramshackle look of his home, Gorvi’s made quite a pretty penny for himself serving as Sandpoint’s dung sweeper, enough that he employs about two dozen vagrants and curs who would otherwise be causing trouble along the boardwalk, paying them regularly in copper to haul one of his distinctive red wheelbarrows through the streets to collect refuse and garbage. Sandpoint pays him handsomely for his services, a job that no one else really wants but everyone wants to see done. Lately, Gorvi’s been making a menace of himself more than usual, spending evenings down on the boardwalk, harassing ladies, and raising hackles at the Hagfish (area 33). Mayor Kendra has had to ask him to ease up on the drinking and carousing more often lately, but Gorvi has grown content in the belief that he won’t be run out of town as long as he continues to ensure the streets are clean.

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8. Sage
The sole occupant of this ancient building is a cantankerous old man named Brodert Quink, a balding expert on Varisian history and engineering. Brodert claims to have spent two decades of his youth studying with dwarven engineers at Janderhoff and three decades as a cataloger at the Great Library of Magnimar, and is continually baffled and enraged that his learning and obvious intelligence haven’t afforded him more prestige. Brodert has been studying ancient Thassilonian ruins for the past several years and has recently become obsessed with the Old Light. No one believes his theories that the tower was once a war machine capable of spewing fire to a range of more than a mile.

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9. Locksmith
A flamboyant dwarf named Volioker Briskalberd has owned and operated Sandpoint’s locksmith business since the town’s founding. Something of an institution, most of the town’s locks were built by Volioker. He’s long been an enemy of the Sczarni (see area 43), who have used both diplomacy and intimidation in their attempts to recruit him to their side. Volioker’s distaste for thievery and scoundrels may have its genesis in his childhood as a street orphan in Magnimar, although he’s traditionally close-mouthed about his past. He’s a tremendous fan of the arts, and never misses a new show at the playhouse.

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10. Sandpoint Garrison
This stone fortress serves double duty as Sandpoint’s militia barracks and its jail. The jail itself is located in an underground wing, while the above-ground portion houses the town’s guard. Sandpoint’s town guard consists of a dozen full-time watchmen; about twice this many servants and other experts (smiths, cooks, bookkeepers, couriers, and the like) dwell here as well. Guards patrol the city alone; there’s generally not much trouble beyond the odd drunk for them to handle, so usually only three or four are on duty at any one time.

Sandpoint also maintains a militia of 62 able-bodied men and women who are expected to attend training and exercise here at least once a week. This militia can be brought to service in about 2 hours.

The garrison is currently under the watchful eye of Sheriff Belor Hemlock, a native Shoanti who inherited the post of sheriff when the previous holder, Casp Avertin, was murdered by Chopper. Belor saw the town through that last terrible night and is generally held to be the man who stopped Chopper’s rampage. In the emergency election that followed a week later, the people of Sandpoint officialized his role, and Belor became the first Shoanti sheriff of Sandpoint. Honored and eager to live up to Casp’s legacy, Belor changed his last name to its Chelish translation, from Viskalai to Hemlock, a choice that has endeared him to Sandpoint’s mostly Chelish populace but hasn’t sat well with his brother Garridan (see area 3). Belor’s not-as-secret-as-he’d-like romance with Kaye Tesarani (see area 43) has put further strains on his relationship with his family.

The jail below the garrison is generally empty save for a few drunks or Sczarni doing time for some minor crime. Murderers and other hardened criminals generally stay for only a few days before an escort from Magnimar arrives to bring them to the high court for trial in the big city. The garrison’s jailor is a heavily scarred brute named Vachedi, a Shoanti tribesman who hopes someday to earn enough money to buy back his two sons from Kaer Magan slavers.

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11. Sandpoint Town Hall
The majority of the ground floor of this two-story building consists of a meeting hall large enough to seat most of Sandpoint’s adults, although town meetings have rarely been even half so well attended. The upper floor contains offices and storerooms, while a vault in the basement below has been functioning as the town bank for decades. Plans to build a proper bank have been stalled for various reasons since the town was founded. Sandpoint’s mayor, Kendra Deverin, can often be found in this building, tending to the town’s needs.

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12. Savah’s Armory
The northeast corner of this building bears a few scars from the Sandpoint Fire, but fortunately for its owner, Savah Bevaniky, the building escaped significant damage. Savah’s shop sells all manner of weapons and armor, including several masterwork items and exotic weapons like a spiked chain, a dozen masterwork shuriken, and a +1 repeating crossbow with a darkwood and ivory stock that bears the name “Vansaya.” She’s not sure what the name means—she bought the weapon from an adventurer on the way to Riddleport a year ago, and the combination of its high price and complexity has ensured its semi-permanent stay in her shop.

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13. Risa’s Place
Risa Magravi operated this tavern for the first 30 years of Sandpoint’s history, and even now that she’s gone mostly blind in her old age and has left the day-to-day affairs of the job to her three children Besk, Lanalee, and Vodger, the mysterious Varisian sorcereress remains a fixture of the tavern. Known as much for Risa’s tales of ancient legends and myths as for its spiced potatoes and cider, this tavern is a favorite of the locals if only becuase its out-of-the-way location ensures strangers rarely come by.

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14. Rovanky Tannery
Situated at the edge of town, Larz Rovanky runs Sandpoint’s tannery with ruthless efficiency. He expects perfection from his workers and his products, and as a result often works long hours on his own during the stretches when he’s temporarily fired the help. His leather and fur goods are of high quality, enough so that locals generally don’t mind the extra wait for custom orders while Larz fusses with getting things perfect.