NPC #1: Evesius the Travelling Merchant

• Name: Evesius Bayer
• Basics: Human Male, age 55, Align Lawful Neutral
• Classes & Levels: Expert 5/Fighter 1 (character level 6)
• Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 15
• Combat Stats: AC 17, hp 26, Move 20ft, Melee Att +4 for 1d8, Fort +5, Ref 0, Will +5
• Skills: Appraise, Knowledge (Geography), Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), Ride
• Feats: Mounted Combat, Persuasive, Shield Focus
• Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Halfling
• Equipment: Breastplate, Longsword, Steel Light Shield, Dagger
• Appearance: A jovial-looking man, about 6'2" tall and weighing 210lb. Evesius has dark brown hair that now has streaks of gray at the temples and sideburns that reach down to the sides of his chin. He usually has merchant clothes on but also wears his breastplate and casque almost every time he leaves his house
• Notes: 
• Evesius is a wandering trader but is based in Ironport. He travels across the Sorquos region buying and selling things to make a profit. Currently he only has a riding horse and two mules but he has plans to buy a boat and travel the coast between Ironport and Quarll.
• Evesius is often on the lookout for bodyguards to protect him as he goes about his business and as such is likely to hire novice adventurers. As well as paying them a daily wage, Evesius likes to talk about the region, its cities and his experiences and so can act as a guide of sorts (albeit one who decides where he is going). 
• Evesius has spent a short time in the Ironport militia where he recieved enough training to become a fighter, but he quit to beome a travelling merchant instead. 
• He has friends and business contacts in both Ironport and Quarll. However, he has also made enemies among certain criminal gangs in Quarll after testifying in court in the trial of a thief who tried to rob him and a colleague. 
• Evesius is a stickler for the rules and hardly ever breaks the law, and he strongly disapproves of those who ignore the law. He also has a sense of fairness and does not deliberately fleece customers or suppliers. 

Overview of Ironport

 

Population: 22,000 - 15,000 humans, 3000 dwarves, 2500 gnomes, 1500 others

General alignment: LN/TN.

Form of Government: Appointed Lord Mayor with advisors

General Notes: As the name suggests, Ironport is the hub of the iron and steel industry, getting most of its raw materials from the Haemos Hills. Because of the significant number of dwarves and gnomes, Ironport is the most racially diverse city-state. Ironport is the first city-state reached from the Irryllian Empire by boat via the west coast, and was the first to be founded by the Irryllians. The dwarves have ensured that Ironport remains secure and well-regulated, with no room for mischief-makers or criminals – some adventurers have fallen foul of Ironport’s zealous law enforcers when tavern brawls break out. Ironport’s industry has made it rather dirty – soot and dust seems to get everywhere, and whereas some folk try to keep things clean, others have just conceded that things in Ironport will get dirty no matter what. The Stout Quarter is an area of the city that has been taken over by dwarves and gnomes, and they have built their own houses and shops, usually with one or two storeys on the surface that humans can fit into, and further levels going down into the ground small enough for humans to have to crouch.

There is some trade between Ironport and the tribes of Estaar but also wariness because human northmen, orcs, even gnolls and bugbears, have been known to sail across in warships to raid the lands near Ironport - though there has not been a direct assault on the city itself. 

Armed Forces: 2,100 - 300 dwarf heavy infantry , 200 gnome light infantry and archers, 5 warships with 50 crew each, 250 human heavy cavalry, 1000 human medium infantry, 100 scouts

Notable Temples: The Temple of Yussack is very popular, as is the Temple of  Draenor. The Temple of Lorilia, although not very big, is frequently attended by sailors and fishermen. 

Notable Criminal Gangs: The Black Axes are dwarves turned bad. They run a protection racket in Ironport’s Stout quarter. They include rogues, fighters, wizards and a cleric of Balgorsis. 

The Wild Weasels are a small gang of burglars of various races but nearly all rogues. They operate all over the city and sometimes make visits to other towns. 

Notable Magical Groups: Ironport Magical College is the seat of magical learning, especially for wizards. There are 11 tutors (all skilled wizards, levels 4-10) and about 30 students (wizard levels 1-2 and a few 0-levels). Some would-be wizards travel from other city-states to attend the Magical College. 

The Order of the Silver Sword is apparently a group of 5 sorcerers and their apprentices and henchmen. In fact they are followers of Balgorsis, and their leader is a lot more powerful than he appears to be. 

History: Ironport was founded in 2040 IR, the first of the City-States, although Quarll was founded only seven years later. It was founded as a base from which expeditions to the recently collapsed Vanae civilisation could be launched - the last Vanae surface city having been abandoned only a year or so before the Irryllian settlers arrived. The Irryllians were expecting Vanae attacks from Mergoth and Vorttol but nothing serious emerged, only sporadic raids by Vanae and hobgoblin bandits. 

Ironport’s two greatest crises were the Black Pox that swept through the region in 2250, and in 2503 IR - Ironport was shaken by a major earthquake, quickly followed by an assault by a force of goblins and hobgoblins from the Haemos Hills, backed up with various monstrous allies. The city suffered both casualties and structural damage, but the goblinoids were defeated. Many have suggested that the goblinoids were able to cause the earthquake, but how such primitive humanoids could have acquired such powerful magic is beyond explanation. Others have said that the earthquake occurred naturally, but the goblinoids either predicted it or were told about it by some deity. 

Why Pathfinder 1E?

So for this campaign setting I am going with Pathfinder 1E, published by Paizo. The main reason for this is that I have the essential rulebooks (Core Rulebook + Bestiary 1 & 2). 

I have only played Pathfinder a few times but I am much more familiar with D&D 3E/3.5E, which I have even more books for. So why not go with D&D 3E/3.5E? This is because of the upset Wizards of the Coast has caused to the community by messing around with the OGL, trying to withdraw the previous version and impose a far tighter license that, despite the name (Open Game License) really isn't open at all. Although it isn't much, this blog is my show of solidarity with those who have relied on the (old) OGL to publish their games and adventures. There is also the fact that Pathfinder 1E is close enough to D&D 3E that I don't feel I am learning a whole new set of rules, rather simply an update to rules I already know enough about. In fact I am including a copy of the OGL v1.0a as a page on this blog - I believe the OGL v1.0a can be applied just as much to blogs as to books and PDFs. 

Incidentally, this campaign setting, the City-States of Sorqos, has had a history of several different rules sets - to start with it was created with Castles & Crusades (published by Troll Lord Games) in mind. I then vacilated between D&D 3.0 and an attempt at a systems-neutral setting. It then got put on the backburner for a few years while other projects took priority. But now seems like a good time to bring it out of the dusty corners of my computer hard drive and let other people take a look at it.