| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Chosen of Lathander |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 18:19:36
who chooses the lords of the waterdeep.is piergeiron or khelben their leader? why doesent piergeiron hides his identity?if the waterdeep is a good city why does it allow the illegal activity in skullport.thank you
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 19:08:58
Ah, here's an actual quote from Ed, from July of last year:
quote:
Now, as for Skullport: I doubt Waterdhavians would ever go into unrest over the mere existence of Skullport; I can only see unrest occurring if nightly raids on the city that clearly came from Skullport(such as by bands of Drow or other "known to be of the Underdark" creatures, coupled with the inevitable lurid rumours) began and went on for days without any response from the authorities.
The existence of Skullport is common knowledge in Waterdeep, and has been for years.
So have the publicly-given reasons for the Lords of Waterdeep tolerating its presence: it enriches Waterdeep greatly, making possible all the wealth and great selection of wares and bustling progress that “advances us all," and it neatly provides a place for dangerous beings (wizards and drow and illithids and the like) to trade in valuable and sometimes dangerous goods, and "keep all that away from all of us who never have any reason to venture down there." In other words, you as a citizen or resident of Waterdeep enjoy great prosperity and safety that you would not, if Skullport didn't exist. Among all the lurid legends and tall tales of goings-on in Skullport are tales "planted" as reassurance, such as: "And if anything ever gets out of hand in Skullport, the Blackstaff has all sorts of spells 'hanging ready' to take care of it all: invaders from there will get blasted to dust! In the meantime, he and Laeral take their apprentices down there for training, and Watchful Order magists, too, so they can blast a few monsters and remind everyone not to try anything with Waterdeep, or - - blam!"
So if adventurers did "tell everyone else about it “they’d probably get responses of: "Uh-huh. 'Sware the bad folk trade, and go, and they deserve whatever befalls them. Glad the Lords keep it all out of OUR hair, anyroads!"
Ed
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| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 19:08:00
Since Waterdeep has had the system of hidden Lords, one has always remained unmasked. Having an Open Lord puts a face on the Lords: it makes the hidden Lords seem more open, and it gives people a target for their praise or ire.
There are no ranks among the Lords; it is a council of equals. Piergeiron, as Open Lord, is a combination of a spokesperson and a point of contact. He speaks for the Lords, and represents them in official matters.
Illegal activity is allowed in Skullport because allowing it in the city below keeps it out of the city above. Waterdeep is a large city and a hub for much mercantile activity. It's inevitable that illegal activity is going to happen, no matter how good-aligned the city is. By allowing it to go on in Skullport, it keeps the crime and illegal substance/activities out of Waterdeep. It's close enough to give Waterdeep's darker elements a close, convenient place to act, but separate enough to keep those dark elements mostly confined to a place that doesn't affect the larger populace. |
| Skeptic |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 18:28:29
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Lathander
who chooses the lords of the waterdeep
The Lords themselves.
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Lathander
.is piergeiron or khelben their leader?
There is no "official" Lord's leader, Piergeiron is the un-masked one. He's somewhere between a spoke-person for the lords and a leader. Of course, Khelben has a good influence on some of them.
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Lathander
why doesent piergeiron hides his identity?
Because he has the Open-Lord's job. (He's also a paladin)
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Lathander
if the waterdeep is a good city why does it allow the illegal activity in skullport.thank you
I said it in my last post, they prefer to have to worst of it under than in the Docks/South ward.
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| Chosen of Lathander |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 18:24:01
by the way that makes more than one question :D
and thank you scraer |
| scererar |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 18:23:48
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Lathander
who chooses the lords of the waterdeep.is piergeiron or khelben their leader? why doesent piergeiron hides his identity?if the waterdeep is a good city why does it allow the illegal activity in skullport.thank you
If I remember right, the lords choose the next lord from all walks of waterdeep society, and One person remains out in the open as the official spokesman for the group. I also believe Skullport is tolerated due to waterdeep officials rather having seeding business happening there, rather the streets of waterdeep. I don't have the sourcebook in front of me to give the exact quotes on this though, i am fairly close to the canon answer. |
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