[Information] Our Setting: The Haven Isles (Lands, Icons, Maps)

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The Haven Isles

[ The Haven Isles | Icons of the Haven Isles | City of Great Lunden | St Abbans ]

The Game Setting The Midderlands Campaign Setting was published by MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing. This is a creepy version of medieval England, with a Lovecraftian bent that is set in both tone and mechanics. I won't get too deeply into the wider Midderlands setting for any one-shots, but I cherry-picked content to help us build our 13th Age version of their setting. The publishers already indicated "Goman" ruins and history within the game setting for us. If the Midderlands setting and this thread conflict, please bring it to my attention, but we will likely work from this thread so we include our Icons and additions to the Haven Isles. Since this is an OSR (Old-School RPG) game supplement, I'm converting it to 13th Age as we go, and I hope that I don't botch on my mechanics checks.

Click on the image to see the full-size map.

13th Age's Three Realms The Three Great Realms of the World The Land: People live on the land, which is a big island surrounded on all sides by ocean. (Further lands are known of on the Continent, but we're unlikely to explore there.) The most important and civilized part of the land, a port on the southeast coast, is the city of Great Lunden. On all sides there are terrors and dangers, but Her Majesty's noble governors keep many of the people safe most of the time. The Faerie Queen protects her people in the woods and wilds, as well, as does the Dwarf King in the underworld. The map of Havenland is a map of the land. Maps of the underworld and overworld look quite different. The Underworld or The Middergloom: Below the land are endless tunnels, chambers, rivers, and lakes—the homes of the dwarves, dark elves, and countless monsters. Portions of the underworld are under dwarf or dark elf control, and other portions are controlled by nefarious creatures, but most of it is wild. The Dwarf King claims to own all the areas of the underworld, but that’s more a statement of intent than a statement of fact. Maps of the underworld can reliably locate a few definite features, such as the Throne Under the Mountain, but explorers are mostly on their own. The underworld changes constantly, with new passages opening up and others closing off. Occasionally, living dungeons roar up from the deeps; if they’re not killed off, they eventually erupt onto the surface. The Overworld, by many names: High above the land is the overworld, a realm of sickly yellow-green clouds, or 'The Drab' as the common folk would term it. Some clouds can support weight, and various creatures live in the overworld, all of them fearsome. Floating here and there amid the clouds are flying mountains, storm and cloud giants, dragons, and cloud cities. All mighty flying creatures travel to the overworld when traversing great distances. The Archmagus' Tower, the Great Library, and the Archbishop’s Cathedral all extend magically into the overworld, and adventurous mortals can access it by climbing certain mountains. Magical realities exist in the overworld, though the Archmagus' explanation of the details is almost impossible to follow. The Archbishop assures his flock that the Overworld is not Heaven, but oftentimes closer to it. Excerpt from core rulebook, page 257, tweaked for this setting.

Locations of Note
These names are taken from The Midderlands OSR Mini-Setting & Bestiary, produced by MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing. While we're not in the green-tinted Midlands of Britain for this adventure, the wider world that was designed for the setting is where we're going to base our game.

 

Introduction by Glynn Seal (First Paragraph) The Midderlands actually exists, honestly. Well, sort of. This is my green-hued and twisted, late-middle ages to early-renaissance, dark-fantasy viewed through grime-smeared spectacles. It is of an area centred around where I actually live in England — the West Midlands and its surrounds.

Great Lunden (see Londinium)
From the capital of Goman Britain to the present day, the city within the Goman walls has changed hands, but more or less remained in the same place. It is now the capital of Havenland and the seat of Her Majesty's power. The Great Library, home and focus of the Archivist is located here, as well as the Great Museum.

Cantberry and the Cathedral (see Durovernum)
The fortress town of the Cantii has developed around the large religious and administrative complex built in the time of the Gomans, now the Archbishop's Cathedral and surrounding city.

Came Bridge and the Schola Magicum (see historic Cambridge)
The Archmagus' Schola Magicum is located in the city of Came Bridge, on the River Cam (a tributary of the Great Ooze River). It and the adjoining Schola Bibliotheca were established with the help of the Archivist and his Orders (namely Orange Librarians and Azure Teachers).

Gwynned and the Court of Stars (see historic Wales)
The region generally referred to as WalesOldenwale, including the princedoms of Gwynned, Powyd, and Glammargan, is primarily under the control of the Faerie Queen, and she is most commonly found in the area known as Gwynned. She has a court of sorts, known as the Court of Stars, but it is an ever-changing forest location within the Gwyndonia Forest that seems to shift without clear reason known to outsiders.

The Bats of Saint Abbans Adventure St. Abbans (see also historic St Albans and the game's setting thread for more in-game details) Saint Abbans is a small cathedral-town in central Hertshire, which is a prosperous, landlocked county in the south-east of Havenland. Hertshire borders the outskirts of the city of Great Lunden and Saint Abbans is a popular stop for people traveling into or out of the capital. Saint Abbans is dominated by its large abbey-cathedral at the top of Wellholy Hill, with the village sprawling out down its fairly steep sides. And yes, that really is the River River, known to the shire as simply "The River".

Oxenford and the University (see historic Oxford)
Recently the Archivist has established his University from the ever-growing local teaching center of the Azure Order, turning the historic river settlement controlling access between the south of Havenland and the geographically speaking, not The Midderlands as refers to the setting as a wholeMidderlands into a center for learning as well as trade.

Undermountain (see Ben Alder)
Built beneath and within Mount Alder (Scrotland) is the new dwarven city of Undermountain. This is where they moved after Underhome was taken and spoiled by the dark elves with their taint of Deep Middergloom (or so the dwarves claim). Undermountain contains the stronghold of the Dwarf King, known as Throne Under the Mountain. (Not marked on large map... yet. Hex G02.)

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Havenland: The People, The Place, The Dangers
Excerpted and condensed from The Midderlands, pg. 8–18.

The age of discovery. Artillery exists and hand-held firearms are in their infancy, though far from easily accessible to the population at large. Most folk believe in witches and witchcraft, and are highly superstitious. In general though, common folk have no idea what is going on in the world outside their town or village. News travels slowly.

There are many peculiar folk that call these Havenlands home. Generally mistrusting of outsiders, they eye strangers with suspicion, closing doors, barring windows, and scurrying in opposite directions. All that aside, there are good folk too. These folk just want to subsist peacefully and not have interference or ‘goings on’ in their lives. Dabblers in the arcane arts of casting spells and summoning are generally mistrusted and even persecuted in some of the region’s backwater areas.

As well as the people of the area, there are the places. The towns and hamlets, the woods and hills, the lakes and the rivers. Amongst all these places are stranger locales too: circles of stones, strange towers, foreboding castles, and burial grounds. Some places, however, are tainted by a green-tinged menace that rises from ‘The Middergloom’, the deep and mysterious realms beneath the surface. The Underworld of the Middergloom is often described as hell bathed in green fire and flames. Many vile, slimy, horrific, tentacled, chthonic, piscine, mutated, and putrid nightmares lie beneath the landscape in the Middergloom, occasionally surfacing or manifesting to wreak havoc. The Lords of the land are always working to keep things at bay. Weird things happen for seemingly no reason at all — exploding trees, fireballs from heaven, rain of frogs, plague of badgers, colossal vegetables and more that has yet to be recorded.

The same vileness that lurks below taints the skies above the land too, known as ‘The Drab’. The atmosphere is a hint of green rather than blue. The color can shift between dark turquoise and sickly yellow-green in a short space of time. When night comes and the Drab clears, Havenfolk can see the constellations surrounded by wispy green nebulae, strange wandering stars and comets, and a single, many-cratered, almost web-covered moon.

Things stir in this viridian-hued landscape. Evil eyes blink and watch. Teeth and claws scratch and sharpen. Gaping maws slobber and drool. All is not content in Havenland.

Gloomium and the Gloom-Touched
Deep in the Middergloom, near the center of the world, is a spinning core of ethereal, arcane metal known as ‘gloomium’. To look upon it is to invite madness, as it is colossally huge, intensely bright green, and infinitely denser than iron.

On occasions, gloomium seeps and leaks onto the surface in all manner of forms. Deep-dwelling creatures are more affected by the strange substance and become increasingly more indescribable the closer they get to the gloomium core. It is this intensely-green, metallic menace that has catalyzed the strange landscape and its effects on the inhabitants.

The effects of gloomium on the denizens of the Middergloom can be quite strange. Anyone or anything that spends too much time underground can start to develop the strangeness that is often attributed to the gloomium. Other than making living creatures extremely unwell, gloomium can cause the subjects it eventually kills to return to being, although twisted and deformed. These beings, spoken of only in whispers with many signs against evil, are known as gloom-touched. They are not undead.

Weather
The Drab above is the provider of Havenland weather. Much of the Haven Isles is pretty much temperate. Average temperature is 20 °C (68 °F) during the day and 10 °C (50 °F) at night, but can vary as much as ±20 °C (±36 °F) in either direction, which gets quite cold for a temperate region.

Generally, it is raining. A light drizzle. If not, the Drab is still turquoise or sickly yellow-green and cloudy. At night though, the sky clears and you can see all the wondrous sights of the heavens.

Races of Havenland
Humans are everywhere in Havenland. That is not to say that dwarves, elves, half-elves, gnomes, and halflings do not live here, they are just too overwhelmed by humanity to stand out. In fact, it is the same for the other creatures of Havenland too. It would be more unusual for anyone to bat an eyelid.

Strangers on the other hand, human or otherwise, are not to be trusted — especially if they look like magic-users, or cast spells like magic-users. The attitude of ‘death by witch-trial first, ask questions later’ often applies. While the city-folk may have come to terms with the rise of the Archmagus, the more backwater the locale, the more likely the populace don't care how official your mage license may be, you're still a magic-user.

Havenland Hierarchy
With notable exceptions like the Archmagus and the Archivist (see more about the Icons below), there is a queen who rules over all of Havenland and is keen on placing the heads of traitors on spikes around her palace. She is surrounded by over forty sycophantic dukes.

Most dukes are content to send minions to deliver messages and the Queen's decrees to their counties and in return, collect taxes raised. This leaves the lords of the towns (both in hereditary positions and appointed by the upper nobility) to do whatever they like as long as the taxes are collected and the dukes to pander to Her Majesty when not pandering to their personal perversities.

Currency
The common folk will bargain and barter with — and for — anything to hand, including livestock, family members, vegetables, whittled spoons, pottery, and unusually-shaped stones. This is not to say that coins are not in circulation, especially in the wealthier areas.

Copper hay'pnees (halfpennies), silver shillin's (worth five pence, £0.05), electrum haff-quid (fifty pence, £0.50), gold quid (100 pence, £1), and platinum fivers (five quid) are the likeliest coins in circulation. There are brass tupp'unce (two pence), iron twen'ees (twenty pence), and middium groats (ten quid) that are less common.

Of special note are the rare gloomium ingots (fifty quid). These bad boys glow in the dark, hence their spectacular value. Although called gloomium by name, they are not made from that substance. They are thought to be of a divine origin and curse those not wise or devout enough to own them. Having a gloomium ingot on your person — or within ten feet — consistently for more than 3 days will start to Reduce one point of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution each day thereafter, with no saving throw. Upon the first statistic hitting zero, make death saves each hour thereafter. Upon three failures, the bearer dies.affect the bearer. The wearer feels increasingly lousy, getting worse each day until ultimately dying. Upon giving up the ingot, the statisticsperson recovers gradually with two days of bed rest for each day the ingot was borne.

GM Note Due to the way The Midderlands designed their coins, 1 gp on the 13th Age SRD should be read as 1 ep, and then silvers and coppers remain the same. This may not always work across the board, but for a quick reference, it will do.

Religion
There is devoutness in Havenland, but it is generally untargeted and vague. There is a perception of there being bright, light, and airy heavens above them, and dark, cold, deathly green hell below them. Havenfolk often refer to the benevolent beings as ‘them upstairs’, or ‘The Gods’ when requesting divine assistance. In comparison, the malevolent beings are referred to as ‘them downstairs’, or ‘The Devils’. (Demons and Devils are terms used interchangeably.) Depending on if you have lived a good or bad life, it determines your final resting destination — upstairs or downstairs.

The Bats of Saint Abbans Adventure Of specific note to the Bats of Saint Abbans adventure is The Watcher From The Shore, the deity revered at the St. Abbans Abbey-Cathedral. This is an ancient, inhuman intelligence that is so named for the watchtowers its faithful priests manned along the shores of Havenland when the first Goman invaders were driven back. It is not uncommon for an Abbey-Cathedral visitor to feel as though they are being spied upon, though some write it off as the inhabitants spying, rather than any deity's direct interest in the goings-on of Havenland. For that would be ridiculous, right?

In the middle of Great Lunden stands Havenland Abbey, one of the most expensive buildings ever built—rivaled only by the Queen's Palace and the Archbishop's Cathedral. It was redesigned a couple hundred years ago, now dedicated to no deity in particular instead of the Church of Gael that had been on the same spot prior, or the much smaller abbey built a thousand years ago. It is now a place of worship for all faiths, even the less savory ones. Additional churches and temples exist throughout Great Lunden for those who wish to congregate away from the prying eyes of others, but they are much smaller and less well-kept.

GM Note Potential additions of “Oddities" and "Creatures" of the Midderlands, TBD. Fun-sounding random tables in the Appendix, too.

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Icons of the Haven Isles

[ The Haven Isles | Icons of the Haven Isles | City of Great Lunden | St Abbans ]

Most d20 games have powerful NPCs who shape the world behind the scenes. 13th Age brings them forward, making these thirteen powerful NPCs into icons the PCs will aid or oppose over the course of each campaign. As the world is shaped by the joint efforts of the players and Game Mistress, more details will be added in italics to flesh out these blurbs.

Excerpt from core rulebook, page 12.

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The Archbishop, The Most Reverend Synus Balm
is the Voice of the Gods and speaks for those who please him. Whilst dedicated to Gael, personally, he represents all the faiths of Havenland, even the bad ones—they all have their place in the world. He is part oracle, part mystic, and part metaphysical engineer, since he created the Cathedral, an ever-expanding temple with rooms or entire wings for each of the faiths he favors. Though his temple city at Cantberry is his home, he spends considerable amounts of time in Great Lunden as one of Her Majesty's advisors.

Cantberry is the Archbishop's home and center of his power. The Archbishop regularly resides at Havenland Abbey in Inner Ward of Great Lunden, fairly centrally locatedBishopsgate.

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The Archivist
acquires knowledge and organizes his multicolored Orders of teachers (azure), librarians (tangerine), scribes (burgundy), curators (golden), and sages (purpura) to be the guiding light of Havenland regardless of race or creed.Please note: there is no publicly-known (read: Secret) green Order, though there is green threaded into the Archivist's rainbow-colored silk rope cincture.** He is responsible for the Great Library and Great Museum in Lunden, the University at Oxenford, and had a hand in the Schola Bibliotheca in Came Bridge. Wherever there are people gathered, the light of the Archivist will have some toehold.

The Great Library in Lunden is the Archivist's home and center of his power.

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The Archmagus
has preserved Havenland (indeed, the Haven Isles themselves) for centuries, whether magic was accepted, shunned, or actively purged and created astonishing new sights, including some of the Overworld. Both the current Archmagus and those who came before him have also threatened the fabric of reality with experiments you’d have to be brilliant or hugely arrogant to attempt.

Came Bridge, home to the Schola Magicum and Schola Bibliotheca, is the current Archmagus' home and center of his power.

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The Dwarf King
is lord of Undermountain (in Scrotland). He’d love to reclaim the dwarven Underhome lost to war against the dark elves and the creatures of the deeps. But now that Havenland is stumbling, the dwarves find themselves manning the mountain walls that shield the Haven Isles from the orcs and monsters of the north.

Undermountain, the Underworld city and home of the dwarven people, is the Dwarf King's home and center of his power.

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The Faerie Queen
rules the Court of Stars, the one place where wood elves, dark elves, and high elves come together as peers and allies instead of as rivals or enemies. All those with a tie to Faerie have a place in the Queen's Court. Honed by centuries of experience, the Queen’s innate magic at least equals the Archmagus' spells.

The Court of Stars in Gwynned is the Faerie Queen's home and center of her power.

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The Grey Lady
watches over the dead and rituals performed for the deceased. Very little is known about the tall and slender figure of the Hooded Lady (alternate title), but the few times she has been seen, it was in the Dead Ward of Great Lunden—the massive graveyard. She is not always present (or perhaps does not wish to be found), but it is widely believed that she has some authority over the dead that she wields to keep them on their side of the veil.

The Dead Ward is associated with the Grey Lady, but no home or center is known.

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Her Majesty the Queen
rules Havenland from her palace in Great Lunden. She is Queen Elspeth IV or sometimes ‘The Mad Queen’ behind her back. She rules over all of Havenland and is keen on placing the heads of traitors on spikes around her palace. She is surrounded by sycophants. Notably, she has over forty "slobbering, nodding, grovelling, back-stabbing, scheming dukes, all eager to keep their heads." (Excerpt from Midderlands setting.) Rather than trust these sniveling weasels, Her Majesty's chosen agents are 'The Ten', great lords and ladies of the land whose purpose is to assist and advise Her Majesty in some aspect of her rule. (Notably, The Most Reverend Synus Balm, the Archbishop, is among these ten advisors.) Much of IrelandEmeraude, WalesOldenwale, and ScotlandScrotland is claimed by other Icons, not all of them friendly to the civilized world. All the signs suggest that the age is turning, but will Havenland fall or shift to a new balance?

Great Lunden, capital of Havenland, is Her Majesty's home and center of her power.

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Lord of Bandits
seems to simultaneously unite the black market organizations of Great Lunden, the roving bandits removing coin from travelers, and even some questionably revolutionary groups. While no saint, he is known for robbing the rich and feeding the poor, and is reputed to be a former Lord who was removed from his position (or perhaps ousted by a favorite of Her Majesty's, no one really knows), but whomever he is, he must have ties high up in governmental positions all over Havenland to persist as he does.

The Lord of Bandits' location changes without warning and his home base is unknown.

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The Witchfinder General, Lord Tolbein Moorcock
leads the charge against magic in Havenland. Though the extreme purges of the last two centuries are no more due to the increased understanding that magic is not inherently evil (and magical assistance for crown and country), this has not stymied the Witchfinders. It is said the cells beneath the Grand Malefizhaus are always full, and the folk in larger cities—the first places to have begun accepting magic—question whether that is entirely necessary. Still, the Witchfinder General is one of Her Majesty's trusted Ten, and unless he suddenly finds himself in disfavor, the witchfinders will continue their witch hunting.

The Witchfinder General resides in the Grand Malefizhaus in northern Outer Ward of Great LundenAldersgate, which doubles as the headquarters of the organized witchfinders.

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On the Havenland Icons

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elspeth IV rules Havenland with an iron fist. 'The Mad Queen' (behind her back) likes to decorate her palace walls with the heads of those who have disappointed her. She keeps a council, known as 'The Ten' who are her advisors and lackeys in the city of Great Lunden and beyond. These are her officers, her confidantes, even. They are of higher position than the forty dukes in nominal control of the forty shires. These she jokingly refers to as the Unroyal Court. Answering to them are the Lords (or Ladies) of each town.

From among them, perhaps, came the Lord of Bandits, who has begun a slow campaign against Her Majesty both in the city and at large, seeming to be in many places at once. 'The Green Bandits' as his people call themselves, move through the "green" spaces between towns with far more ease than any humans have any business doing, but Her Majesty's agents have found no signs of translation: anarchists, non-humans, or other non-conformistsundesirables aiding them, either.

Only whispers have reached H.R.M.'s agents of something stirring in the depths of the Cairn Chase Forest. Whether the two have anything to do with one another, they don't yet know. The forest is known to be a hazard of the meaning the geographic center of the isle, not the setting as a wholeMidlands, so such rumors have been quashed, for now.

The Archbishop, the Most Reverend Synus Balm, has been asked for counsel on the subject, but so far has only indicated that he has requested information in both divine and mundane ways, and he is certain he will have answers shortly.

It was suggested by one of the Ten that the Archbishop approach the Grey Lady for her insights, but Reverend Balm was adamant the suggestion bordered on heresy. The Hooded Lady sometimes witnessed in the Dead Ward might have insights into the deceased, but she is no dread necromancer to force them to do her bidding. It is given to her to watch, not wade in.

As information is what is sought, the Archivist's counsel was also called for. His response was simple; he did not know, but if it were known, he would have more information to send on soon. Unfortunately he admitted a similar request had been made by the Lady of Cairn Nook some months earlier, with no better response. This has not reassured H.R.M.'s agents.

It was also suggested a missive be sent to the Archmagus, but the Witchfinder General, one of Her Majesty's Ten, objected, restarting yet another squabbling match over magic being allowed to "fester in the heart of the realm". Whether any such communication has been sent or not, no answers have come from Came Bridge or the Schola Magicum.

The Witchfinder's men have gone out in search of answers, but it becomes ever more apparent that the witchfinders will jump at every shadow that goes boo. They see no hierarchy where magic is concerned, and cannot focus on a further afield problem when faced with any common lass with a lazy eye. It is this kind of reaction that has them out of favor with many nobles, it's only fear and the Witchfinder General's favored position close to Her Majesty that maintains their foothold in Great Lunden.

Beyond that, who can say? There is a Dwarf King in the Scrottish Highlands, it is said, and more than one account of the Faerie Queen in Oldenwale. Does every story amount to truth? How about the black knight said to both champion the people and wreak havoc in the north of Havenland, or the alchemist whispered about in village circles? What of the fae warrior who steps out of mushroom ringsfairy circles when the moon is dark? Or the supposed female with a cow's head in the barrows beneath the city?

[Aethera]

City of Great Lunden

[ The Haven Isles | Icons of the Haven Isles | City of Great Lunden | St Abbans ]

Click on the map for a larger version.

Inner Wards
The eleven inner wards of the city are bounded by the Great Thameswater River and the defensive city walls. Those that dwell within the inner wards are referred to as ‘innards’ and are considered by those in the outer wards to be stuck up and rich — at least in comparison to themselves.

Outer Wards
North of the Great Thameswater River, excepting the Inner Wards, or south of the Great Thameswater River are the outer wards of Great Lunden, with a range of uses from the middens of Midden Ward (and the midden workers of Harrow Ward) to the Queen's Estates.

Great Thameswater River
The most famous river in Havenland. This wide, moderately-flowing river is the lifeblood for many of the city’s residents. The downside of being close to the estuary is that all the rubbish, dead things, and waterborne diseases from the activities of those upstream come through the city on its way to the sea. (The sewer systems of the city also feed into the river.) This fetid water still supports a diverse ecosystem. All manner of unspeakable things make the river their home.

Lunden Bridge is the largest bridge in the city, and the only way to cross the Great Thameswater River without using the Thameswater Ferry or a suitable boat.

Queenswater
The Queenswater is the fifty-foot-deep moat at the base of the city wall which protects all of the Inner Wards. The water level is kept low, to allow for some spill from the tidal range of the Great Thameswater River. Six bridges span the Queenswater, each protected by a gatehouse. Water is fed in from near the outlet of the River Wart, and underwater sluice gates of iron and stone in the northwest corner of Rotterhithe between the Gaol and the city wall can be raised to prevent the high tide waters from overwhelming the moat.

River Wart
The only tributary that enters at the city’s outer wards, the River Wart is a relatively short, but slow-flowing river. Fishermen in coracles and spear fishermen on skiffs make heavy use of the river for their living. No one is allowed on the river stretch adjacent the Queen’s Royal Palace estate, and anyone entering it is shot at with ballistae from the watchtowers.

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The Bells of Havenland Abbey (Timekeeping in London)

The inhabitants of the abbey follow ecclesiastical time, which is a strict timetable of times to sleep, rise, eat, pray, and work. The bells of the Abbey keep them on track, and likewise everyone in the general vicinity can keep time using those same bells.

The days of the abbey are divided up into six four-hour time periods;

• Nocturne. (midnight to 4 am)
• Matins. (4 am to 8 am)
• Nonce. (8 am to noon)
• Bellgrace. (noon to 4 pm)
• Vapours. (4 pm to 8 pm)
• Evensong. (8 pm to midnight)

Each of these periods is rung in with a bell, named for that period, except for midnight. (Thus, the Matins bell is at 4am, the Nonce bell is at 8am, and so forth.) While there is a city watch which can sometimes be heard changing the guard at midnight, the bell that would announce Nocturne is silenced for the sleeping folk of abbey and city alike.

In the city, rarely are people awake before dawn unless they have to follow the sun for the care of their livestock. More likely, the sun rises at the same time as the people of Lunden (approximately 6am), and they should be working by the time the Nonce bell rings (8am). It is the start of the workday, which tends to last until after the Vapours bell (4pm), but most city folk are able to be home for dinner at approximately sundown (6pm). To get a solid night's sleep, most people begin to retire as early as the Evensong bell (8pm), and they are definitely asleep by midnight.

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Map Locations
Maps were created by Glynn Seal, cropped and selected as needed for our game. Please ignore alphanumeric system, it's irrelevant to us.

Tomegate (Inner Ward)
Tomegate, the Scholarly Ward (as opposed to Tomegate, the actual gate in the city wall), is home to most of the academic and intellectual pursuits of Great Lunden. (Directly north of Lunden Bridge, at the city wall.)

B3. The Great Library
Home of the Archivist (the highest Library tower), as well as the heads of two of his colored orders: the Great Scribe of the Burgundy Order organizes his scribes from the Hall of Records and the Great Librarian of the Tangerine Order keeps the library.

B46. The Lost Quill
The Lost Quill is owned and run by Theophilus Bone, a talented scribe and manuscript illuminator. He is also an adept writer of secret missives, for which he has adapted special inks.

Brothenward (Inner Ward)
As the name might suggest, Brothenward boasts the best inns, taverns, and kitchens in Great Lunden. Follow your nose to whatever smells best, but be mindful of your purse. Depending on your coin, you might find almost anything edible to your fancy. From House Pottage and Brothenward Broth to Alderwych Rhubarb Pie and Midderlands carp steaks, almost every cook or chef in the ward has their own takes on the familiar, standard dishes, while some boast foreign foods such as FrenchGaulandian frogs in asparagus sauce, SpanishEspanerian seafood with rice, and ItalianItalican cheese and tomato bread wheels.

Signs visible from the first block of Broth Road:
D2. The King's Coin
D3. The Three Bells
D4. The Smith's Hammer
D5. The Bitter Twig

Marketgate (Inner Ward)
It is said that ‘if you can’t get it in Marketgate (the inner ward, as opposed to the actual gate), then you can’t get it in the Haven Isles’. This inner ward is full of all manner of warehouses, shops, bazaars, stalls, and merchants. Split into three distinct areas by Bridge Street and Barter Street, the western part of the ward is known as ‘Cheapside’, the central part as ‘Middleside’, and the eastern part is known as ‘Shinyside’ on account of the more luxurious wares the closer east you go. (Very center of Inner Wards and spreading east to Marketgate.)

B5. Lucky Bazaar (Middleside)
The Lucky Bazaar is a large, four-story building with a central atrium that has its own tented marketplace within the grounds. A colonnaded walkway around the inner perimeter separates the tented market area from the main merchant area. (In-game description from Bats of Saint Abbans, Chapter One can be found here.)

B6. Hog's Emporium (Middleside) — Check out the Emporium thread for all your gear needs.
Hog’s Emporium has the reputation for selling the finest traveling gear in the city. Tents, bedrolls, camping paraphernalia, rations, rope, iron spikes, ladders, lanterns, sacks, casks, waterskins, and the like can be found on the shop’s hooks, counters, shelves, and stands.

Cripplegate (Outer Ward)

Cripplegate is the poorest of ward in the city. Although many of its rundown buildings have chimneys, most of the occupants struggle to afford coal to burn for a fire. Many in the southern half of the ward are covered in the grime and soot of Blackgate (Inner Ward) that has blown north and the ward’s main thoroughfare, Black Street, is named for the appearance of these buildings, grubby and black. Black Street runs the length of the ward, from north to south. Just north of the Blackgate (gate) is a large open area known as Bastards Square. Markets, executions, and public shamings are held here regularly — sometimes all on the same day.

Cripplegate has a thriving black-market, although a potential customer is as likely to find almost anything for sale as he is to get mugged. Lookouts stand on street corners and whistle varying tunes to alert their masters of looming trouble.

C56. Church of Gael

D1. Saint Ruself's Home for Wayward Orphans
An orphanage, one of many. It's import is not so much widespread as relevant specifically to those who had the misfortune to grow up here. Loosely related to the Church of Gael, one of the primary gods of Havenland, the nuns who run the orphanage are strict and humorless, and their punishments border on the ridiculous, even for Great Lunden.

More to be added as needed.

[Aethera]

Great Lunden Proper – The Inner Wards
The eleven inner wards of the city are protected by the defensive city walls and the river, but also by divine rituals maintained by the Archbishop which protect the inhabitants from teleporting ne'er-do-wells or dangers arriving via dimension doors. Flight is next to impossible here, even for those who can take on bird form—who quickly learn there are locations that just "feel off" and push back any attempts to fly over, an effect most severely protecting the Tower of Great Lunden and the Queen's Estates to the east. On the rare occasions when the wards falter, it's not uncommon to see a green aurora or shimmering green particles that glitter in midair, almost as if you could reach out and touch them...

 

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• coming soon

[Aethera]

The Outer Neighborhoods of Great Lunden
coming soon

 

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• coming soon

[Aethera]

Beyond Wards and Outside Great Lunden Proper
Beyond the wards of Lunden lie agricultural spaces for miles, all of which is necessary to feed the city. These farms are all worthy of representation at the Farmer's Guild, which is found in Aldersgate (Inner Ward).

 

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• C48/You Are Here - a farmer and his wife have a beetroot farm and are happy to chat with travelers
• A20 (red square at mid-right) - an obelisk