Cham Fau

Cham Fau was a prosperous river port city in the Hai Yuan region of Shou Lung.

Upper Town
The town of Cham Fau consisted of two joined settlements: the Upper Town was built on the elevated green hills above the floodplains. The paved upper district was home to the rich and powerful inhabitants of Cham Fau, and the town itself consisted of expensive manors and temples. The streets were accentuated by arched gates, intricately decorated with symbols of luck, lung dragons, and other monsters of the land shaped out of bronze. The monster designs served to repel evil spirits and misfortune.

The major place of interest in the town of Cham Fau was the martial arts school, ran by Master Wang Ho in the 14 century DR. The White Tiger Monastery stood on the highest point of the town. Its entrance was a grand crimson intel gate with several golden shrines surrounding the main building. The next closest structure was just below the minister's elevation&mdash;the manor of the magistrate of Cham Fau. The rich home had white walls and wooden carved trimmings.

Lower Town
On the floodplain below stood the Lower Town. It was a chaotic tangle of roads, bridges, canals, and tightly packed habitats of the common folk. The Lower Town roads were hard-trampled dirt that dissolved into mushy mud every monsoon and during seasonal flooding. The Lower Town was wrapped around the Huang Bay with two great canals that ran along both sides of the bay. They were filled with a colorful cornucopia of houseboats, sampans, rowboats, and barges, with crimson red brides rising above them, glittering in the sun with golden filigree and decorative Shou designs. Most buildings in the Lower Town lacked architectural coherency, being a collection of random designs and sizes but not higher than.

The town bordered the Forest of Shen Hua, past the rice fields to the east. The forest was considered forbidden, and it was home to the Men of the Woods, a rag-tag group of defenders of the Hungste Valley against corrupt governments.

Geography
Cham Fau was built on the western border of Hai Yuan, on the eastern shore of the Upper Hungtse River, near a three-way delta, north of Shinian Bridge. The Hungtse Basin was a lush rice plain with the river bringing fresh water from high cliffs down to Cham Fau and its floodplains.

A small and unremarkable inn stood outside of Cham Fau: the Inn of the Unseen Way. The inn was the gateway that connected Kara-Tur with the extraplanar nexus of the World Serpent Inn. This brought a number of exotic creatures from across the multiverse to the small town known for its rice and martial arts.

Homes
Most homes in Cham Fau were made out of stone or sundried brick and had thatch-tiled roofs. The noble and peasantry home alike followed the teachings of feng shui magic. Bigger homes had gated courtyards with ornamental gardens, waterfalls, or ponds filled with koi. Such gardens were called the courtyards of contemplative gatherings. According to feng shui, the main living quarters were called "then wu", and often were built on the southern walls of the home. Other rooms, including guest quarters, stood along the side walls. One thing was common among all homes&mdash;the entrance never faced west as Shou associated west with the underworld. The living quarters were built elevated above the inner and outer courtyards. That space was used for storage, shelter for the household beasts, and protection against flooding.

Homes of clans, Cham Fau's nobility, were referred to as compounds. These structures were fortified buildings, big enough to fit the entire family, servants, livestock, and number of guests. Compounds included storehouses of freshwater, drink, and food, ready for a siege.

People of Cham Fau, like other Shou folk, preferred sleeping on large ornate beds of hardwood and iron, rather than floor mats used in Kozakura. In many cases, the beds were massive enough to fit the entire family and passed along as family heirlooms. Traditionally, sons slept on the father's side while daughters&mdash;on the mother's. Most other furniture was ornately carved with motifs of dragons, mythical creatures, and scenes of legends and historic battles. Despite the intricate mastery of such furniture, even the poorest of the Shou owned several pieces.

Family
An average clan consisted of as many as a dozen family members, all living in one compound. The family included the family patriarch, his wife, their grown-up sons, their wives, and adolescent children. Grown-up children were allowed to live with their families for a period of time needed to establish their own homes. The unmarried daughters lived with their parents while those who were wed moved to live with the husbands' clans. Grandparents also were part of a clan.

Tradition demanded that younger clan members bowed when addressing older family members, using honorifics such as "most honored," "Master," or "Mistress." Husbands and wives tended to refer to each other as "Old Lady" and "Old Man" with levity when in the privacy of their homes, while grandparents often gave nicknames to the grandkids, ending the names with the "chan" suffix.

Fashion
The working-class Shou of Cham Fau were often dressed in simple garb: loose over-jackets, cotton trousers, and wide straw hats.

Culinary
Most food consumed in Cham Fau was simple, consisting of local rice and freshwater fish like eel and carp. Tea was a staple, brewed with each meal, while other local foods included various pickles and steamed pork buns, or bow.

Religion
Each home in Cham Fau had a small altar frequented by family members that left home in the morning. Each family had its own collection of household gods, and sticks of joss were lit in reverence with each prayer.

Government
The town of Cham Fau was governed by a Magistrate and layers of the complex and overwhelming imperial bureaucracy. Shortly before 1357 DR, a young, smart, and ambitious man assigned to he position was Magistrate Li Sung Ming who remained in power into the late 14 century DR.

Trade
Rice farming and fishing were the main industries in Cham Fau. The fishing boats tended to bring in two catches per day. By the mid-day, boats returned with purse nets full of fish, while the larger nets were placed along the river currents and returned to the shore every evening. The fishing was kept to the shallower parts of the river as the deep waters were home to unspeakable monstrous creatures if stories were to be believed.

The rice trade was controlled by the clans as of the 14 century DR, the Shen Clan and Shuii Clan. Each of the families owned two large and fertile rice fields. The Shen family was the more ambitious and reckless of the two, spending years trying to wrestle ownership of more fields from the neighbors, and by 1357 DR, some said the Shen Clan found allies among the Yellow Hand Tong criminal power.

Defenses
The Upper Town was the safer of the two districts. It was regularly patrolled by the Magistrate's Guards. The Lower Town received significantly less attention from the city guard and often sheltered thieves and scoundrels who lived among the commoners and merchants. In 1357 DR, the Captain of the Magistrate's Guard commanded twenty men.

History
Cham Fau was established in the along the fertile shores of the Hungtse River to support the White Tiger Monastery and martial arts school that was constructed the same year.

By the, the Feng Su Clan was one of the most powerful trade organizations in Cham Fau. They exuded pressure on the Mok Clan, trying to force it to join the trade cartel. Mok Tien, the Mok Clan patriarch refused despite the many rumors that surrounded the Feng Su Clan and unfortunate pirate-related disappearances that happened to those who angered the organization.

The same year, the monks of the White Tiger Monastery, under the command of Abbot Cho Fong, plotted an attack on the Kwan Ying Temple after the Festival of Lanterns. If successful, rebellious monks were to be thrown out Cham Fau and the White Tiger Order to become the only monastic order, approved by the Department of Celestial Supervision and the Immortals. This conflict was orchestrated by wu jen Zo Chung striving for political power who inhabited the massive graveyard in the Upper Town.

In the late 14 century DR, someone with a disruptive sense of humor unleashed a swarm of dretches from the World Serpent Inn. The fiend rained havoc on the wealthy Fu Te district. That incident gave the inn a new nickname among locals&mdash;the House of Sudden Fiends&mdash;and led to mistrust of the planar travelers that emerged from its gates. This was not an isolated event, however. At one point, Magistrate Li Sung Ming began imposing wild edicts and taxes. The leaders of the White Tiger Monastery suspected mind control or possession and sent a student to investigate the World Serpent Inn in hopes of breaking the spell. Another event led a gaggle of White Tiger monks to swarm the inn in search of the recently stolen chrysanthemum blade. They followed the thief, an ogre mage, into the planes-hopping tavern.

Rumors & Legends

 * Many stories talked about monsters living in the depths of the Hungtse River. One such monster was believed to be a huge river serpent and every time a boat went missing, locals blamed the river creature. However, most disappearances were likely perpetrated by the Shih Jen Pirates of the more dangerous Upper Hungtse River.

Shops

 * The Central Marketplace, the center of Cham Fau's commerce. An open-air brick-paved market surrounded by stationary stores.
 * House of Apothecary, a small medicine shop that dealt in potions, tinctures, and some magic, ran by Master San Mei in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Magnificent House of Weapons, a quality weapon shop ran by Lo Fan in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Mi Fa Teug's Ever Bountiful Emporium of Dried Goods and Travelers Accessories, a general store that catered to travelers.
 * Tung Shen's Strong Steeds of Noble Birth Stable, a stable that sold horses, some claimed, stolen from Mo Shi Tam's horse breeder farm.
 * Wa Ko Inn, a cheap and somewhat ill-reputed inn.

Inns & Taverns

 * Lucky Dragon Inn, the largest establishment and the major hive of activity in Cham Fau, frequented by fishers and travelers, and ran by Lin Po and his wife Lan-ying in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Seven Sons Tavern, a friendly establishment that served rice wines, plum brandy, and pot-stickers, ran by Lin Mei and her handsome seven sons in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Shou Mai Ting Restaurant, a restaurant that served noodles and other dishes of the Northern Cuisine from Chukei.

Landmarks

 * The Fortress of General Tsuo, a huge stone compound ran by General Kung Pao Tsuo, the leader of The Stone Army of Kuo Meilan.
 * Glorious Moon Flower Rising Fish Dock, the main dock of the city open to public, ran by the Most Farsighted Department of Public Con- structions and Civil Works.
 * Great Temple, the White Tiger Monastery's temple dedicated to Nung Chang, the deity of agriculture.
 * Imperial Arcanium, the home of Zo Chung Kao, the Magistrate's advisor who offered education for select few in the Art.
 * Min Fang Island, the island home of Lord Kai Mai Lin, avid preservationist, he filled the island's forest with a variety of rare beasts.
 * Mu Pei Cemetery, the graveyard used by the Upper Town.
 * Temple of Kwan Ying, Mistress of Compassion, a temple ran by the monks of the Grey Cat sect.
 * Ting Shen Island, the island owned by General Kung Pao Tsuo in the 14 century DR. The noble family's compound known as the Fortress stood on the island was the the host of the annual martial arts tournament – Tournament at the Fortress of General Tsuo.
 * Tz' Wei Grove, a small grove on the southern end of town located amidst rice fields and it hid a shrine to Kwan Ying.

Notable Inhabitants

 * An Ching Wang, a deadly wandering fighter and sister of Yen Tsu Wang, active in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Chen Ching Ch'ien, a river spirit folk and a student at the White Tiger Monastery in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Chen Tsao, a monk of the kung fu school and paramour of Mei-yuan, daughter of Lin Po in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Mok Tien, the patriarch of the fisher Mok Clan and the owner of the Bright Flower of Heavenly Sunrise in the mid-14 century DR.
 * Yen Tsu Wang, daughter of Master Wang Ho and the wife of a magistrate of Cham Fau in the mid-14 century DR.