King's Reach

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LOCATION:

Kings Reach is located in what is known on Faerun as 'The Vast'. Situated on the banks of the River Vesper the road from Kings Reach extends to the north to become 'Three Trees Pass' to final join up to Kurth on the other side of the Earthspur Mountains. To the south the land is a mixture of open grasslands, thick woodlands and rocky hills. The south road ends at the Fire River on which stands the town of Dragon Falls. Nearby settlements include Ravens Bluff and Tantras.

GOVERNMENT:

Military dictatorship held by Ulivur Blackraven, although he does little in the form of actual rulership. He has a council of advisors who run the city's administrative duties.

POPULATION:

41,000(summer high) 29,000(winter) +1,500 dwarves. King's reach has a large transient population who pass through on their way north and south.

ARMED FORCES:

King's Reach is policed by a city watch of 840 watchmen drawn from the local populace. In recent years, the watch has begun losing more and more of its personal responsibilities. These duties are now controlled by the Darkrider's Mercenary Company, Ulivur's personal legion.

LOCAL HISTORY:

King's Reach is a caravan city as well as a mining town.

Merchants often stop here before starting the trek through the mountains north of here. Also shipping to the city of Calaunt is made easy due to the river along which King's Reach lies.

The smithies of King's Reach are renowned for their abilities of metalwork. With the help of the priests of Gond the Wonderbringer, they have developed a more refined and durable steel alloy. However, it is still not as strong as the secret of Damaskan steel that the smith's of the city once held.

Previously, King's Reach was known as Damask and ruled by a cruel despot named Sarn Duukoth. This man heavily taxed the people in order to fill his own pockets.

Crime was allowed to run rampant in the streets, as long as Duukoth received his own private share of the action.

Seven years ago, Ulivur Blackraven and his Darkriders appeared before the city's gates calling for the death of Duukoth. The people finally rose up against their evil lord and threw his dead body at Ulivur's feet. Ulivur was proclaimed "Libertybringer" and seated upon the throne of Damask.

When the local thieves guild, Viperstrike, decided to eliminate Ulivur, the Darkriders started a vicious war against crime. The thieves were broken and formed small gangs unable to fully cooperate with each other. Ulivur was again proclaimed a great hero, so they didn't mind the minor raise in taxes to fund the new city guard, the Darkrider's.

When the rulers of Impiltur found out that Ulivur was in the town, they sent a number of their heralds to inform the townspeople about the traitorous deeds of their new ruler. Nearly every one of these men was killed by the enraged population. Hatred for Impiltur has grown considerably since the spreading of this false propaganda. In fact, the town received its new name, King's Reach, after several nobles began proclaiming the town to be "beyond the King's reach".

TEMPLES:

The Warrior's Abode (temple of Tempus, god of War) run by Haldestin the High Holy General and his 80 priests. This temple is well fortified against attack and has numerous guardians to defend it from unlawful entry.

The Hall of Creativity (temple of Gond, god of inventors) run by Valdemar the Ingenious (11th Lvl priest) and his 18 priests.

The House of Mystery (temple of Selune, goddess of the moon) run by Kennealy (10th Lvl priest) and his 11 priests. This temple is frequented by a large number of good lyncanthropes who would like to see Ulivur slain for his involvement in the Changeling Wars of Impiltur.

The Spire of the Unicorn (Temple of Mielikid, goddess of the woodlands) run by Trackniaster Erlwin (₉th Lvl cleric), his 12 priests and 17 rangers.

The Hall of High Forges (dwarven temple of Dumathoin, keeper of secrets under the mountain) the exact location and abilities of this church are kept secret by the dwarves of the town. With racial distrust at an all time high, the dwarves do not want to risk being raided by angered humans.

The hidden temple of Mask, god of thieves, is becoming a very controversial topic in the city. It is well known that Ulivur would pay well to find its location.

There are also shrines dedicated to Mystra, Bane, Cyric, Myrkul, Loviatar, Ilmater, Shar, Tabs, and Oghma.

CURRENT SITUATION:

The thieves are managing to reorganise themselves due to the aid of the newly formed temple of Mask. Ulivur is unaware as to the whereabouts of this group, but he is using all resources available to find them.

Gang activity has increased in the past few months, so Ulivur's forces have been forced to help the local militia. At this time there are two very popular gangs. The Hellreapers are a band of youths seeking to establish dominance in the merchant quarters and are running a very efficient protection racket. The other gang has no official name or structure. They are composed of bands of loyalists who wish for the former glory of the Damaskan Empire. Their main spokesperson is Tarma (see below).

Recently, a strange cult calling themselves Bloodharvest has become active. This reckless group of murderers has struck prominent individuals throughout the city. All of the people murdered have been slain using farm equipment or plant life. The exact aim of this group is unknown, but rumours speak of a deranged cleric of Chauntea who left his church's farmland to worship a shambling mound.

Recently there has been a rash of fires in the area. The Order of fire watchers, a few mages who are hired to handle fires in the city as well as several normal humans, can hardly keep up with the arsonists. Many have accused the priests of Tabs, and others have said that rival wizards of Thay are here to stop the mage, Melkarth, from gaining an upper hand. Recently, a mage was seen entering the temple of Tabs. The man wore red robes and had the symbol of Kossuth, Lord of Fire, tattooed upon his forehead. Rumors are that this man is a priest of Kossuth who has turned to the study of fire magic under the personal tutelage of the Zulkir of Fire elementalism. When this man, Pyros, left the temple several priests were reportedly reduced to cinders.

Since the arrival of Sleyvas (see Darkriders) and his firearms, the temple of Gond has begun work to create more of these weapons. Reports are that they may be on the market within the next few years, although many believe that Ulivur will not allow them to be sold to anyone but his own men.

The long, lost secret of Damaskan steel has been rediscovered, but not by the human descendants of the original inventors. The dwarven priests of Dumathoin have found the scrolls of Maskyr, the long dead ruler of the Damaskan Empire. These scrolls were deciphered by the dwarven chemists and loremasters, revealing the procedure for forging this metal. As a result, there is not much Goodwill between the humans in town and the dwarves.

In fact, one faction of the gangs calling themselves the Purists are devoted to puri~ing the city of humanoids. Originally, this group was formed to rid the surrounding slums of orcs and half-orcs who took away hard labour jobs from the humans. Since their new focus on dwarves, the merchants in town who have been losing money to the dwarven Armourers and weaponsmiths have begun sending donations to aid the gang. It is even whispered that one or more of the gang members is a priest of Gond, the god of inventors.

Rumors speak of another strong cult which has formed recently. Calling themselves the Shadowspawned, this is a group of thieves rumoured to be aided by shadows and even vampires in their robberies. The leader of this group is rumoured to be a priestess of Shar, goddess of the night and sweet forgetfulness, who has been infected with vampirism. Those prominent members who distinguish themselves to be devout followers of the "Dark Lady" are given the "blessing" of immortality. These rumours are further substantiated by the recent disappearance of several underpriests of the temple of Selune. This group seems to have no purpose other than acquiring gold and luxuries for their dark queen, but the House of Mystery is looking for information on the activities of this group.

As if these things are not enough, Haldestin the High Holy General of Tempus, god of war, has taken it upon himself to take back the streets from the gangs. He and his mercenaries and priests ruthlessly slaughter any and all lawbreakers that they capture, no matter what the normal punishment would be. Ulivur has warned the man that these activities must cease, or he will be forced to take actions into his own hands. Haldestin has not slowed his pace despite Ulivur' 5 displeasure.

Jeless Nightdream(CN human female 7^th level enchantress) She is a greedy individual who uses her magic to charm men into giving her their money. Noone knows what she truly looks like because of her fondness of using magic to conceal her true identity. The families of those who have been cheated by her have offered a reward for information leading to her capture.

Kerdren Everspnng(NG half-elf male 8^th level bard) One of the Heralds of Imphras II, the messengers of Impiltur. He has come here in hopes of leading the people to see how horrible Ulivur truly is. So far, he has only gotten in trouble for his "treasonous" remarks and is now in hiding.

Karzel Hammerstone(CG dwarf male 6^th lvl fighter) Karzel is a gruff, old dwarven prospector who has finally hit paydirt. Unfortunately, the area where his mine is located is also guarded by giants.

Lazimer(LB human male 13^th lvl conjurer) Lazimer is a conjurer of great skill whose house is rumoured to be guarded by great and powerful beings. Lazimer runs an insurance" agency for the wealthy. If they are cheated by someone, vengeance is insured.

Tarma(CG human female 6^th Lvl fighter) this energetic woman seeks to rally the people together and throw the yoke of a military dictatorship. She has met with little success.

Mertorak the farseeing (human male 11th Lvl diviner) Mertorak sells his services to the highest bidder. Presently, he is working for Ulivur to find the temple of Mask. The thieves have placed a price on his head.

Evroul has been hired by Ulivur to provide her unique services. She is very good at retrieving information from her subjects, if they survive.

Purgathem(LG human male 9^th Lvl priest of Tyr, god ofjustice) Purgathem has taken it to be his holy quest to bring Ulivur back to Impiltur to stand trial. He is currently training a group of "reformed" thieves to enter the palace and capture Ulivur.