Procampur

Procampur, formerly known as Proeskampalar, was a city-state in the Vast, lying on the north coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars and the eastern shore of the Dragon Reach, situated at the western end of the North Road and the High Trail.

From its early days, it was a city noted for its skilled goldsmiths, ornate and fine quality hardware (smithy work), and gem cutters. It was ruled by a hereditary overlord with the title of Thultyrl. The Thultyrl as of 1372 DR was a young man, Rendeth of the Royal Blood, who was aided by the Hamayarch, the mage-advisor to the Thultyrl. The mage as of 1372 DR was Alamondh.

Etymology & Language
The name "Procampur" was pronounced "Pro-CAHM-pur" and derived from the previous dwarven town of "Proeskampalar". People and things from here were called "Procampan". Its people spoke the Procampan dialect of the Easting language, which was quite similar to the Damaran language.

Early history
Procampur was an ancient and established city, the oldest in the Vast, with a long heritage.

There was originally an anchorage on the site of what is now Procampur. When thieves stole the treasury of King Glaurauth the Great of Westgate (−301 to −291 DR), they fled by ship and anchored here, before venturing into the Earthfast Mountains, with Westgate's wizards in pursuit. Both forces were slain in Elvenblood Pass.

Dwarves from Earthfast founded the underground town Proeskampalar in the Year of the Starry Shroud, −153 DR. That same year, it was joined by human refugees from fallen Jhaamdath (what is now Chondath) who also settled there. With this influx, Proeskampalar swiftly became a boom-town and a significant trading partner with Westgate, thanks to its talented goldsmiths and gemcutters.

In time, the human surface settlement grew into a great city, now known as Procampur, which was founded in the Year of Trials Arcane, 523 DR. However, its wealthy miners and craftsmen were plagued by thieves and various other criminals, and frequent pirate raids drove many Procampans away. This left only the most resolute, miners mostly, who vowed to force back the killers and robbers. They hired powerful mercenary forces to defend their city, but then needed to control the mercenaries. Magic was the key, and the local Thultyrl family of wizards rose to a position of power, and hereditary rule.

At the time, Procampur was a fortress-city, located where the Castle District was in later centuries. The Thultyrls who ruled it preferred peace, order, and discipline in a walled and guarded city. To reduce petty crimes like theft and enable easy rule, the expanding city was segregated into walled, self-contained districts, connected by guarded passages, unlike in other open and sprawling cities. Some Thultyrls ruled as tyrants, demand total obedience and instilling terror in their subjects.

In the Year of Long Shadows, 1164 DR, the master jewelers of Procampur crafted a new crown for the coronation of King Palaghard I of Cormyr. The crown was stolen when the legendary pirate Immurk the Invincible raided the merchant-ship carrying the precious cargo. The crime was so audacious that Palaghard believed that no one could be so brave, and that the Procampan jewelers were cheating him instead. He mustered his armies and nearly declared war on Procampur, before being corrected. This crime signified a rise in piracy on the Inner Sea, and the nations around it began building warships to protect their merchants. The crown was eventually recovered, but so heavy, grandiose and ugly that it was only used for a few months.

The Year of the Blazing Banners, 1209 DR was the time of the Pirate Wars, when kingdoms around of the Sea of Fallen Stars allied against a pirate fleet based at Dragonisle. Procampur contributed a number of mercenary forces and, with Impiltur and Aglarond, formed the eastern fleet of 75 ships. Working with the western fleet of Cormyr, Sembia, and the Vilhon Reach, they defeated Urdogen's pirate fleet in the Battle of the Fallen. For the eastern fleet’s brave rescue of the Sembia force, Procampur and Impiltur claimed a greater share of the prizes. The alliance fell into bickering soon after and broke apart.

In the early 13th century DR, a fever in Procampur killed several people, including the current Thultyrl. He was succeeded by his son, a young man. The current Hamayarch was the Pearl, who'd apparently held the position for some three generations, despite her youthful appearance. The mid-13th century saw the Vast suffer rampaging hordes of orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, supplemented by some human brigands and half-breed rogues. In the Year Of Burning Steel, 1246 DR, the orc warlord Fottergrim and the magelord Archlis led a mixed horde of them in an invasion and take-over of Tsurlagol. The Thultyrl chose to honor Procampur's treaty with Tsurlagol and led an army to besiege and free the city. To supplement his forces, he hired mercenaries, including camel-riding cavalry from the Shaar and the Siegebreakers adventuring band of sappers. It was an expensive undertaking, paid for by Procampur's nobles and merchants; by the treaty, Procampur expected to recover its expenses from Tsurlagol. It also had to be done quickly, before those paying for it grew too restless.


 * The date of 1246 DR was not included in the novel Crypt of the Moaning Diamond due to editing error. It was mentioned by author Rosemary Jones, here.

However, the Pearl believed that the Thultyrl was destined to die young, at the age of 26 and early in his reign, in battle against Fottergrim before the walls of Tsurlagol. Instead, he was wounded on a hunting trip during the campaign (an event perhaps orchestrated by the Pearl). The Pearl secretly prevented his wounds from healing to keep him away from the frontlines and Fottergrim, believing that he would go on to become a good king and complete the Great Codex of Procampur's laws. Thanks to the Siegebreakers and the Moaning Diamond artifact, Fottergrim and Archlis were slain, Procampur's armies victorious, and Tsurlagol was liberated. Fottergrim's silver-plated skull was mounted on a pillar halfway between the two cities with a warning against threatening Procampur's allies.

Later in the mid-13th century (i.e., over a century before the 1360s DR), a hobgoblin horde marched near Procampur. It was defeated with the aid of the mage Snilloc, who earned some fame for his actions here.

Undated history
At some point in its history, Procampur was assaulted by Maldrithor, the "Sarbreenar Wyrm". Though it laired at Sarbreenar, it had eaten all it could there and was forced to fly south to Procampur for food. There it ripped the colorful roofs from houses and ate the people it caught inside. The city suffered two such raids, and by the third they had hired a wizard to slay the dragon. With exploding "swordballs", the wizard bloodily tore Maldrithor apart and sent the dragon crashing down dead in the harbor.

Recent history
In the Year of the Wandering Wyrm, 1317 DR, the Plague of Dragons quickly spread around the Inner Sea from the Vilhon Reach to Impiltur and Tsurlagol. The priests of Procampur feared that their city would be next to suffer the diseases and the dragon that spread them. The current Thultyrl recruited the temple corps to help defend the city.


 * The outcome of this is unknown.

The very first of the Thayan enclaves was founded in Procampur in the Year of Moonfall, 1344 DR, when Samas Kul, Thay's Master of the Guild of Foreign Trade, organized the concession of the small Thayan Quarter there.

By circa 1357 DR, the Thultyrl of Procampur was the young Rendeth of the Royal Blood, while the position of Hamayarch was held by Alamondh. Alamondh was in truth an evil necromancer named Carthoun Misintle with desires on the throne. Despite the Thultyrl's traditional vow of vengeance on pirates who attacked Procampur or her ships, Alamondh encouraged Rendeth to relax the city's stance on piracy, showing leniency and conciliation. A few pirates were even allowed to use Procampur's port, provided that their crimes were not too great and no Procampan captain accused them of anything.

During the Time of Troubles, in the the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, many wealthy merchants of Procampur fled to their country houses in the neighboring town of Maerstar. However, they were harassed there by looting mobs of refugees from Tantras, Calaunt and even Mulmaster who'd also come through Maerstar. To protect their treasures, the merchants buried them in the paddocks, but not all survived to retrieve them afterwards, such as Uligker Oloskar. Meanwhile, in Procampur, High Priest Undil Latheen of Waukeen began to go mad at the fate of his goddess.

The nobles of Procampur contributed to the crusade of King Azoun IV of Cormyr against the Tuigan Horde in the Year of the Turret, 1360 DR, by selling supplies to the army. Nobles like Duke Jozul Piniago had little involvement in the war yet made a profit off it.

Early in the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, priests of Torm ran Calispar Delgorth, a priest of Talona, out of Procampur. Delgorth had operated a secret workshop in the city for years, from which he'd experimented with and sold poisons. By Marpenoth of 1367 DR, Procampur was struck by the featherlung plague, which killed hundreds of people, particularly in the District of the Poor. Procampur's wards counted against the city during the plague, as the other wards were slow to react, which contributed to the deaths. To be treated by clerics of Helm and Torm, the sick had to cross the city to reach the Temple District, thus spreading the plague further. High priests Orn Thavil of Tymora and Baniya Dolester of Lliira went to the poor district to set up an auxiliary shrine and treated the sick directly, and other priests soon joined then. Though their actions halted the spread of the disease, the Thultyrl reprimanded both high priests for breaking the Procampur's district rules, and were reminded that the city and its laws were older than a number of deities.

During the turmoil, a panicking mob accused a woman with facial tattoos of being a priestess of Talona. Though she said she was just a sailor of Prespur (and was possibly a pirate), they seized her and lynched her by hanging. She cursed the mob to suffer far worse in future before she died.

Both Thultyrl Rendeth and Hamayarch Alamondh were still in power by the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, though some began to suspect that Alamondh was deceitful and unjust.

Demographics
By 1358 DR, the most recent census showed a population of some 49,000 people: 98% human, 1% dwarf, and 1% half-elf. In 1372 DR, it was listed with population of 24,631.


 * The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3rd edition) saw widespread significant population reductions, though it is not clear why. The larger figure of 49,000 may refer to the population of the surrounding land that Procampur controls, while 24,631 may only be those people within the city itself.

Layout
Procampur was famous across the Realms for being divided into a number of districts, each reserved for specific activities and people and each a distinct color of slate roof tiles. Both roof colors and allowed activities were set by royal decree long ago, and the rules remained strict about what could and could not be done in each district. Only in the port or outside the city proper were these restrictions broken. It was said that any visitor to Procampur could tell their location simply by looking upwards.

The old fortress-city of Procampur was originally what was later the Castle District, and in its expansion beyond that it was divided into the district system. It became a large and sprawling city, contained by its walls in a roughly circular shape, with two stub walls off the main city walls, which curved to meet the shore in a rough crescent and hem in the harbor. Walls some 15 feet high separated each district from its neighbor, with heavily guarded gates permitting access between them.

Joining all parts of the city together was the Great Way, a wide avenue that ran east–west between the Castle District and the harbor. At the harbor it ended in a single gigantic gate with massive towers. It was the main walking route of the city, but could be used for all activities that did not hinder travel or interfere with other travelers. The avenue was also walled, but gates led off it into each district.

The city had few large gardens or parks, and which were generally found in the Nobles District.

Castle District
The Castle District sat at the western end of the Great Way, and was the former fortress-city of Procampur before it expanded beyond its walls. Later, it was the site of two grand builds with gold-roofs: the Palace of the Thultyrl and the High Court, which housed royal servants and officials, apartments for state guests, courtrooms and the treasury. It also contained a number of white-roofed military buildings, mainly barracks and stables for the soldiers. People who did not live or work in the Castle District were discouraged from entering and looking around.

Nobles District
The silver-roofed Nobles District sat north-west of the Castle District and bordered the Services District. The area was tidy, spacious and luxurious, with all the grand houses of the city's nobility, flagged streets, gardens with trees and ornamental pools, with magical street lamps that gave a constant light.

Services District
The yellow-roofed Services District sat between the Nobles District and the Sea District, north of the Great Way. This area was set aside for a range of service activities, for restaurants, taverns, and a various businesses, and was home to builders, servants, handy-people, and so on.

Sea District
The blue-roofed Sea District lay north of the Great Way, between the Services District and the harbor. This was home to people who made their living off the sea, from sailors to sea-captains to fleet-owners, though by necessity fisherfolk and ship-builders were located in the port itself. It was also dedicated to cargo storage, outfitters, shipping businesses, and other buildings and businesses related to sea-going trades.

District of the Poor
The gray-roofed District of the Poor, also known as "Graystreets", laid south of the Great Way and between the harbor and the Adventurer's District. All the houses here were owned and maintained by the Thultyrl, mostly rooming houses, while anyone who could own their own home did so in another district. It was home to the poorest people of the city: beggars, the unemployed, and common laborers, who begged, pooled their wealth, and did their best to survive. It was also home to long-term visitors who had to stay in the city for a season or longer. Wealth, or lack of it, was no requirement for dwelling in the Graystreets, and neither was there any stigma to having an address here. The district wasn't very strongly guarded.

Adventurers' District
The smallest district was the red-roofed Adventurers' District, between the District of the Poor and the Merchant District, south of the Great Way. It was dedicated to a range of the more dangerous trades, including exploration, prospecting, mining, scavenging, caravan guards, wagon and caravan drivers, weapon making and training. It was home to those people who engaged in such activities, who were all generally considered 'adventurers' in Procampur. It also inhabited by people who had no particular work to do yet had the money to own their own homes anyway.

It had a number of other purposes as well, being a place for gambling, to hear bards tell tales, and to find adventurers who were free with their magic. It was home to the notorious 'red-roof girls'.


 * The bawdy local song I'm Quite the Red-Roof Girl from Crypt of the Moaning Diamond suggests that the Adventurers' District may also be a home to prostitutes and festhalls.

Merchant District
The Merchant District, had sea-green roofs and sat south of the Great Way, between the Adventurers' District and the Temple District. This contained the shops and homes of local, domestic businessmen, those who did not conduct trades related to the sea or adventuring. It was filled with workshops and apartments, with narrow, unflagged streets and the smells of the various businesses there.

Temple District
The Temple District had shining black roofs and sat between the Merchant District and the Castle District, beneath the Great Way. The district comprised four great temple complexes, as well as smaller temples and many shrines to lesser gods and an open space for setting up temporary shrines, and the scattered houses of the clergy. The temples were built of stone.

Temples

 * Helm: The Tower of the Eye
 * Torm: The House of the Hand
 * Tymora: The Lady's Happy Hall
 * Oghma: The Domes of Reason
 * Waukeen: The Hall of Success

There was also a temple to Deneir, which had a tower. It was led by the High Scrivener, Prelate Wenslan Amthur, and its other members included Sister Deara and Foxe, and it had the lama Koja of Khazari as a guest from 1360–1362 DR, and was home to the traveling scholar-monk Vilhiard. It also had a golem, originally constructed by Deara to serve as a scribe but later put to work as a porter and door-opener. The temple had a hall with a thousand votive candles at the shrine to Deneir, vaults, and a library, which contained a complete copy of Vilhiard's A Discovery of the World.

Shrines
Among others, there was a shrine to Mystra, as well shrines to Deneir and Oghma, in addition to their temples. The shrine of Oghma was the home of the former Grand Patriarch of Oghma, Cullen Kordamant, who was believed to have ascended to Oghma's side. The nobility also had family shrines at which they could make prayers and offerings.


 * Forgotten Realms Adventures and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised) state that there only shrines to Mystra, Deneir, and Oghma, and the latter equates the shrine of Oghma to the home of Kordamant. However, Faiths and Pantheons places the Domes of Reason, a major temple of Oghma, in Procampur, while the short story "Patronage" in Realms of Valor and Horde Campaign places an unnamed temple of Deneir there. This suggests that these shrines exist in addition to the temples.

Military
The only exception to the district rule were military buildings, which were located at strategic locations throughout the city and were marked by white-washed roofs. These were barracks, stables, armories, guard-posts and guard-houses.

Harbor
At the western end of the Great Way, beyond two huge towers, was the harbor or port. Being officially outside the city, and outside the influence of the Thultyrl, the buildings here kept to no particular purpose, style, size, or roof color. Both visitors, citizens, and foreign traders could come and go freely and act as they liked in the harbor. It contained places that could not or would not fit into the districts, being home to warehouses, fisherfolk, and ship-builders that needed to be nearer the sea, as well as stables and facilities for training and caring for mounts and livestock that didn't belong to Procampan authorities. There were also a number of cheaper inns and taverns that catered to travelers passing through, as well as a number of small "bed-and-beer" houses that huddled around them.

The port area was hemmed in by two stub walls off the main city walls, which curved to meet the shore in a rough crescent. It could be a crowded and dank place, and in parts disreputable.

Locations & Establishments
The following streets and shops were found in Procampur:
 * Scribes' Alley: Forgemaster Inkstain
 * Shards Street: Rendril's Forge
 * Leaping Dolphin Lane: Summergarth Facilitations

There were several inns and taverns in the port district that catered to travelers and adventurers:
 * The Happy Hippocampus: An inn and tavern in the port district. It was a noisy place, but good quality with cheap prices.
 * The Silent Sword: An inn in the port district. A much quieter place, with good quality service and moderate prices.
 * The Griffin's Claw: A tavern. The bard Talamic sang the Lay of the Purple Dragons here in 1362 DR.