The Port District was a district of the city of Procampur in the Vast, comprising the harbor and entry gates. It was officially outside the city proper and outside the Thultyrl's influence and laws.[1][2][3]
Description[]
Lying at the western end of the Great Way, beyond two huge towers, the Port District faced onto the Dragon Reach.[1][2][4] The district was some quarter-mile (400 meters) wide, and extended a significant distance up the coast. The city didn't have an easily controlled harbor mouth, making the harbor difficult to defend well.[5] Regardless, the port area was hemmed in by two stub walls leading off the main city walls that curved to meet the shore in a rough crescent.[1] The north and south walls of the Port District each had a pair of gates leading to the coast roads,[2] the High Trail and the North Road,[6] and another onto the Great Way and the main part of the city.[1] The walls were some 15 feet (4.5 meters) high, with heavily guarded, double-portcullis gates permitting access between them.[7][8][1][9][4]
Being outside the city's laws, the buildings here kept to no particular purpose, style, size, or roof color, unlike the other districts that were reserved for specific activities.[1][2][3][4] It contained places that could not or would not fit into the other 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.[1][2] There were also cheaper inns and taverns that catered to travelers, as well as a number of small "bed-and-beer" houses that huddled around them.[1] It could be a crowded and dank place, and in parts disreputable.[4]
The docks comprised eleven piers.[1][3] There were also two drydocks.[3]
Activities[]
Contrasting with the order and duty of the other districts, the Port District was a relatively chaotic and dangerous place[3] and always bustling.[10] Although it operated fairly normally in the daytime, after night fell it became a rowdy area where the young and daring ventured out and dangerous folk prowled with cocky attitudes, ready weapons, and a need to show off. It was also commonly where one would hire coin-lads and coin-lasses to spend an evening with. Beggars were also present, as begging was banned elsewhere in the city.[11] The Port District was said to be a place where something was always going on.[3]
Visitors, citizens, and foreign traders here could come and go freely and act as they liked, within reason.[1][2] Visitors and adventurers new to the city were required to stay here, usually at one of the inns, rather than in the city itself.[1][12] To those who entered, the gate guards of the Diamond Legion would explain the city's rules and laws to all who asked, and did so readily and patiently.[1][2][3]
Naturally, the Port District was the hub of Procampur's trade with cities in other lands.[10] With frequent trade in and out of Procampur, the eleven piers were constantly in use all year round.[3][10] Shipbuilding was also a significant business here, so the drydocks were also always in operation; circa 1370 DR, a new ship for the Ravens Bluff navy was under construction.[3]
Law & Order[]
Procampur's Diamond Legion kept the peace here as they did elsewhere in the city but usually only showed up after a fight was over and usually arrested both parties regardless.[11] Warehouses owned by Procampan nobility were guarded by members of the Guard of the Star Sapphire.[13]
However, corporal punishments and executions were also carried out here, at The Way's End.[3][11]
History[]
On Uktar 17, the Year of the Unstrung Harp, 1371 DR, a Selûnite priestess visiting from Ravens Bluff named Justina Palfry was murdered in the Port District. Local rumor claimed this was committed by a supposed serial killer dubbed the Portside Mangler thought to be responsible for the recent deaths of a former barmaid and a dancing girl in the district. However, the Proctors declared there were no links between the murders. In fact, the Sharran priestess Inosencia Cielian was later found to have murdered Justina solely to become a Dark Justicar.[14]
Later, Lady Constantine Grimm was also murdered in the Port District, her body discovered in an alley by a passing bard who quickly alerted local people. A crowd of onlookers gathered that had to be dispersed by the Diamond Legion so the Proctors could investigate.[14][15]
Notable Locations[]
Inns, Taverns & Festhalls[]
- Crafty Lady, cheap and dilapidated bed-and-beer house.[3]
- Gilded Cage, a popular geisha house.[3]
- Happy Hippocampus, a lively inn and tavern frequented by mariners.[3]
- Red Star Inn, a small bed-and-breakfast inn.[16]
- Silent Sword, a decent inn.[3]
- Mercenary's Loft, a rowdy inn frequented by adventurers and mercenaries.[3] It stood in the northeast, on Haspur Gate Road.[17]
- Weary Prince, a pricey luxury inn.[3]
Markets, Shops & Businesses[]
- Ahlmer's General Store, a low-priced shop famous for its fresh biscuits.[3]
- Rendril's Forge, operated by master smith Opara Rendril.[3]
- Market Plaza, an open market where a variety of common and exotic goods were sold.[3]
Stables & Mount Dealers[]
- Amern's Stables[3]
- Montgar's Horse Outlet, a subsidiary of Montgar's Horses[3]
Official Sites[]
- Port District Tower, local base of the Diamond Legion.[3]
- Port District Proctor Headquarters, local base of the Proctors.[18]
- The Way's End, a place of punishment execution on the fifth pier by a courtyard.[3][11]
Streets & Alleys[]
- Dragon's Landing, a street by the docks lined with warehouses joining Proeskampalar Way.[10][17]
- Proeskampalar Way, a street joining Dragon's Landing and Port Pass.[17]
- Port Pass, a street joining Proeskampalar Way and Haspur Gate Road.[17]
- Haspur Gate Road, a street joining Port Pass and the city gate joining the High Trail to High Haspur.[17]
There were however no temples in the Port District.[10]
Appendix[]
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Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Dragon's Law • Grimm Revelations • Lost in Love
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (1990). Forgotten Realms Adventures. (TSR, Inc), pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-8803-8828-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 214–215. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 Jay Fisher, Daniel Cooper, Universe Construction Company (1997). Procampur City Expansion Packet , link:[1]. Living City (RPGA), pp. 1, 3–4.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 David Cook (February 1993). “Patronage”. In James Lowder ed. Realms of Valor (TSR, Inc.), pp. 140–141. ISBN 1-56076-557-7.
- ↑ Curtis Scott (March 1992). Pirates of the Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-1560763208.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1998). The City of Ravens Bluff. Edited by John D. Rateliff. (TSR, Inc.), p. 145. ISBN 0-7869-1195-6.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb (August 1987). “Cyclopedia of the Realms”. In Karen S. Martin ed. Forgotten Realms Campaign Set (TSR, Inc.), p. 70. ISBN 0-88038-472-7.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 71. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (October 1998). The City of Ravens Bluff. Edited by John D. Rateliff. (TSR, Inc.), p. 154. ISBN 0-7869-1195-6.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Jay Fisher, Universe Construction Company (December 1997). A Vial Secret. Living City (RPGA), p. 3.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Jay Fisher, Daniel Cooper, Universe Construction Company (1997). Procampur City Expansion Packet , link:[2]. Living City (RPGA), p. 2.
- ↑ Jay Fisher, Daniel Cooper, Universe Construction Company (1997). Procampur City Expansion Packet , link:[3]. Living City (RPGA), p. 16.
- ↑ Jay Fisher, Daniel Cooper, Universe Construction Company (1997). Procampur City Expansion Packet , link:[4]. Living City (RPGA), p. 13.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Daniel Cooper (April 1998). A Friendly Suggestion. Living City (RPGA), pp. 21, 23, 36, 40.
- ↑ Andrew Hauptman (February 1998). Grimm Determination. Living City (RPGA), pp. 3–6.
- ↑ Daniel Cooper (April 1998). A Friendly Suggestion. Living City (RPGA), p. 28.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Jay Fisher, Universe Construction Company (December 1997). A Vial Secret. Living City (RPGA), p. 6.
- ↑ Template:Cite living city/A Piniago For Your Thoughts