This is the fifth post in my setting-creation series, wherein I am creating a new setting before your very eyes. Here are the links to the previous posts; Part I: 20 Questions about the Eleven Pillars, Part II: Eleven Pillars Map and Notes, Part III: The Fraywood and its Dominant Creature, and Part IV: Cinereal Marsh and the Bog Frill. In this post I will provide more details about the Pillars themselves as well as a map specifically for the players.
The Eleven Pillars in More detail
To clarify, I am not providing maps for the specific Pillars, lists of specific businesses, NPCs, population, or encounters in the Pillars. Those things will get played out and created right at the table – my GMing style contains a lot of off-the-cuff and on-the-fly determinations rather than sets of static encounters. I will create some specific shops or businesses, complete with NPCs, before the game, but I haven’t gotten to that just yet, so I won’t be giving you that information in this post. So what is this post about? Well, I fleshed out the general descriptions of the cities (Pillars) a bit more and it ended up providing new information about the setting, which is interesting enough to warrant a post. This information is specific enough to spark interest in the players, but general enough to leave a lot of room for mysteries and development of new ideas.
The pillars are named for the predominant color of the stone facade when first constructed – the differing colors due to different proportions of minerals. For each Pillar description below I tried to give information regarding the predominant race(s), size of the pillar, anything the pillar is known for, its general location, and any important trade or visitor information. This info was given to the players so that they could decide in which Pillar they wanted to start the campaign.
1. Aureate Pillar (hex 0428)
The stone used to build the Aureate pillar has a high proportion of Limonite and Feldspar, giving the walls a golden-yellow hue in the right light, and leading to the name Aureate, which means golden or gilded. This is a small pillar located in the southwestern portion of the region. The population is predominantly human in this region.
The Aureate Pillar is known for the House of Vellum, a well-respected group of sages and historians. The House maintains a large, but private library of history and arcane tomes, scrolls, and correspondence. The Narit Monastery, where many go to study the rights and ceremonies of Sedna and Fazl (two of the most powerful gods of the pantheon) is located closer to this pillar than any other.
2. Cinereal Pillar (hex 1225)
The stone used to build the Cinereal Pillar is mostly hematite, giving it a grey, slate color. This is a large Pillar located in the southern portion of the region between and East of the Onyx and Aureate Pillars. The Cinereal Pillar is the largest pillar, and approximately 1/3 of the pillar is underground. This is a large metropolitan city with a large and diverse population. Humans and Dwarves form the majority, but large numbers of the other civilized races also reside in the city.
The Hovel Arcana, the largest arcane academy, is located near the Cinereal Pillar and prospective students often travel to the Cinereal Pillar in hopes of being accepted to the prestigious school. Because of the large number of arcane users in the vicinity, casting in public without a permit brings exorbitant fines to anyone who gets caught. This is a surprisingly large source of income for the pillar government.
The Cinereal Pillar is also home to the Gem Reaver’s guild, a proud group of miners who monitor the gem and jewelry markets, ensuring stability of the economy and the mined areas of the Mountainlands. The large population has a high proportion of poor, many of whom claim membership in the Penny Guild, a loose organization of beggars trying to gain influence. The Cinereal Pillar is a large port-city that experiences a lot of merchant traffic and trading halls – it is one of only 3 pillars that can host ships (Viridian and Quartz being the other two).
Just below the cloudline to the south of the Cinereal Pillar is the Pit of Loathing, a former mine turned prison complex. This complex houses those that are deemed too powerful and dangerous to be exiled to the Lowerlands.
3. Cobalt Pillar (hex 2204)
The stone used to construct the Cobalt Pillar is high in – you guessed it, cobalt – giving the walls a deep blue tint. This is a small pillar located in the North Eastern edge of the region. The Cobalt Pillar is primarily inhabited by halflings and all but the top two levels of the pillar are underground. This is the shortest pillar and its only claim to fame is Ronade the Daunting, High Master of the last Stanchion Tournament. The Halflings were a sea-faring race before the Great Migration and they have yet to find another successful trade. Their population has been dwindling for as long as anyone can remember… so much so that several of the lower levels of the Cobalt Pillar are empty.
4. Ecru Pillar (hex 2011)
This pillar is high in dolomite, providing a white or very light brown sheen. It is a small pillar located to the South and West of the Cobalt and Quartz Pillars. The Ecru Pillar supplies most of the high quality wood used by wainwrights, wheelwrights, and carpenters. The population is predominantly Half-Elven and Human. They travel below the cloudline in large tree-harvesting parties. The wood is then sent to the Gamboge and Quartz Pillars to be worked.
5. Gamboge Pillar (hex 1613)
This pillar is a deep yellowish brown, accounted for by the type of iron in the rock of this mountain range. This pillar is located to the South of the Ecru and Viridian Pillars. The Gamboge Pillar has a trading agreement with the Tree Harvesters of the Ecru Pillar, who deliver the finest high quality raw wood to the Carpenters and Wainwrights Guild located in the Gamboge Pillar.
6. Malachite Pillar (hex 0413)
This tall green Pillar has numerous green bands decorating its surface due to the Malachite in the rocks used to construct the city. This is a medium pillar located North of the Aureate Pillar and South of the Russet Pillar. This pillar sits in the center of an area with some of the most fertile grazing and planting land of the entire region. The pillar itself is surrounded by a sprawling agricultural area consisting of several small hamlets and thorps. The Malachite Pillar is also known for its High Livery Theater Troupe, which started as a group of traveling jesters providing entertainment for farmers and herders and has become a premier school of drama and tragedy.
7. Onyx Pillar (hex 0920)
The Dwarves of the Onyx Pillar pride themselves in their ability to be a self-sufficient city. Though they welcome anyone traveling through, they have become weary of the rabble-rousers on their way to the Cinereal pillar and have cracked down on any trouble-makers. The laws in the Onyx Pillar are the most restrictive of any pillar and, of late, the pillar has been getting lots of refugees from larger cities – those just looking for a place to earn a decent living and not be bothered by others. So far Tannos Kiol, the Dwarven Regent, has been tolerant (and sometimes almost kind) to these immigrants, but the Dwarven population’s patience is wearing thin. The Onyx Pillar is located just north of the Cinereal Pillar.
8. Quartz Pillar (hex 2407)
The residents of the Quartz Pillar have agreements with the Ecru and Gamboge Pillars in the interest of crafting high quality goods to sell to the Viridian Pillar. The Quartz Pillar is a small pillar with a predominantly human population. This pillar boasts the most highly traveled population as the merchants manage shipments and bring together goods and services, providing them to the Viridian Pillar in person, having traveled through the other 5 closest pillars. This is the smallest pillar to have a port for cloudships. (Note: I’ll address the cloudships in a different post)
9. Russet Pillar (hex 0404)
This is a large pillar but it doesn’t boast a metropolitan population center similar to the Viridian and Cinereal Pillars. The Russet Pillar is sprawling, but with strictly enforced laws. This pillar is the seat of two important guilds, the Guild of Alchemists, which conducts its business under a shroud of secrecy, and the Glass-Blowers Forge, which is much more open about the goings-on in the guild-hall and beyond.
10. Sienna Pillar (hex 1602)
This tiny pillar is the family home of Clancy Sharar, merchant extraordinaire and purveyor of fine goods to the rest of the world. Sharar runs his business out of the Quartz Pillar because of the port located there, but he sends much of his profit home to the Sienna Pillar, which now houses the largest and richest bank of the region. The Sienna Pillar is the least known of the pillars.
11. Viridian Pillar (hex 1210)
This large green-hued pillar is the seat of power for the entire eastern half of the region. It is the home of Lord Thoas, regent and the most prosperous ruler (nobleman) of all the pillars. He has, as a vizier, a powerful mage (Erazem the Sceptor). Lord Thoas controls the wealth of 4 other pillars, giving him a hand in their political control, they include; Gamboge, Ecru, Quartz, and Cobalt. The Viridian Pillar is similar to the Cinereal Pillar – it has a large diverse population, is similar in size, has a busy port, and even has an arcane academy nearby. The laws here are less stringent than the Cinereal Pillar, and the portion of the population that is poor is higher. The Gloaming House is the name of the second arcane academy, and it boasts Erazem the Sceptor as its most famous alum.
Player’s Map
Remember that this game features a substantial hex crawl component so I need to provide a map to the players that doesn’t give away every terrain type and the locations of every ancient town, castle, or ruin. I created a map that shows the Mountainlands in full, since the civilized races have explored and mapped those pretty extensively. The map also shows several hexes in the Lowerlands which have been explored by different Pillars for various reasons, but doesn’t show more than necessary. Of course, some of the mapping could be incorrect because the information on this map has been gleaned from historical documents, old maps with less than traceable origins, and modern explorers who have various levels of expertise and cartographic skills.This is the map that I have given to the players:
I hope you are enjoying this series of posts as much as I am enjoying writing it.
Until next time, I wish you good gaming!