Let's Build a Setting (Cityscape Edition!): Shale of the Underdark

[DuctTapeKatar]

Spoiler: Why just a city?

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All right. One thing I realized about the Let's Build a setting threads is that they often are spread out over an entire world, like too little butter over a single slice of bread. We've been going off, doing a variety of things that often were too far apart to have direct affects to each other. The problem wasn't the system, but the scope. The worlds created were often large, making it difficult to fill in the gaps between them. So, maybe we can't make compelling worlds. BUT, I bet we can make an interesting city-state, since it would be small enough to have every facet interact with each other, but large enough to have plenty of stuff to stick into it.

Also, please try to imagine every post as if spoken by a shady carnival attendant for the best effect

Let's try to start another one of these up, with a different twist, a city instead of an entire world.

BASIC RULES: PLEASE READ
- Do not contradict previous posts. Modifying said posts is acceptable, but don't modify it to death.
- Here and Now (to a degree) rule: If it does not affect the current timescale, it does not really need to be included. Additionally, let's keep it in the city's territory. Exploring the outside of this realm is a quick way to discover fates worse than death.
- Balloon Corp. Rule: No absolutes (EX: monopolies, only one magic-capable race, etc.) This rule might be exempted, but try not to do anything too drastic. This place may be a city, but just because some corporation rules every aspect of trade in this little corner of the world does not mean that other corporations may not exist.

THEMES:
- Gothic Horror (Jack the Ripper, Odd Plagues, and Ghouls abound!)
- Corrupt politicians and ambiguous vigilantes
- Strange magics and even stranger magicians
- Nature as an oppressive and corrupting force (not an evil one, per se, but dangerous, nevertheless)

In the depths of our noble world exists a dark beating heart. So far down into the bedrock that not even the eldest of dwarven kings delve, where the concept of a surface is laughable, beside an infinite sea of blood-red waters glows a flickering glimmer of civilization, if one could manage to twist the meaning so. Shale, the city of iron and stone, where gaslamps light the dark streets and shadows lay waiting outside of the city boundaries. It is of strange denizens, with humans who have long forgotten the sunlight living beside Duegar, Drow, Goblin and Kobold. Every house is laden with steel riggings and grate, with stonework walls, the soft breezes of unknown origin swaying the chains that hang over the streets. The districts are built aside and atop of each other, section after section balanced atop the crumbling, forgotten causways. The Bloodlake beside it is a dark, deep ocean of rust-colored water, with strange noises and sights slipping through its surface. Beyond the walls and into that infinite black of caves and tunnels is a nightmarish landscape of terrible spirits and monsters, only warded off with the city's brilliant glare. This is not a fairytale for children, nor a place for holy crusaders. It is the underdark's only city, and it awaits you.

Welcome to Shale!

[Bobbyjackcorn]

Clay and Blood Solutions

There is a certain vanity that accompanies the drow and a magic that runs deep in their elven blood. As such it should come as no surprise that Clay and Blood Solutions exists in the City of Shale.
Formed by the Wizardess Avenliel as a side project to expand her understanding of flesh-shaping and golemancy, Clay and Blood provides "beauty enhancements" in the form of crafted and magically grafted clay faces, augmented and replaced limbs, and special requests on a commissionary basis. To surface dwellers and common folk, this practice may seem disturbing, unnatural, or unenviably dangerous- but to the nobility of the city of Shale, the craze has become quite popular, gaining a widespread appeal.
Of course, as with anything in the Underdark, insidious secrets lie behind the crumbling clay mold of this business's public appearance:
The first secret of note, is that Assassins the whole city over often seek out Clay and Blood for augmentation: legs that can sprint without resting, backs with concealed weapon repositories, clay hands which can not feel the sting of poison. Often these Assassins are just one room away from the nobles they will later serve or murder, just a stone wall away from their contacts and targets.
The second secret is one that none know but scheming Avenliel herself. After the customers have all gone for the day, and all that remains is to clean up the "leftovers," Avenliel hauls a cart full of gore down to her basement. Once there, Avenliel opens a large hatch, and lowers the cart with magic, down into the sewers. Here, surrounded by blood-stained tables and profane arcane symbols, Avenliel performs her last day's experiment for you see, Avenliel is also mad. She transmutes the piles of gore into Gibbering Mouthers, imbuing them with the life-force of sewer life and unfortunate slaves, until the cart is empty. Then she sets them loose in the sewer system of Shale, and simply leaves, not turning even glancing back at the horrific shambling piles of flesh and gnashing teeth that trudge off into the rust-colored waters of the lake...

[Recherché]

The bloodlake contains multiple hydrothermal vents that heat the waters of the lake up to a balmy body temperature near the shore and much much hotter in the depths of the lake. The vents provide not only heat but sustenance for a wide variety of strange aquatic life forms and through them much of the city. The majority of Shale's food supply comes from fishing in the bloodlake or using the inedible parts/creatures as fodder for the mushroom farms. Its a dangerous line of work though given the monsters that sometimes inhabit the lake and the fact that the waters are toxic to most humanoids.

[Xuc Xac]

Its a dangerous line of work though given the monsters that sometimes inhabit the lake and the fact that the waters are toxic to most humanoids.

"The waters are toxic" due to the near-constant algae blooms that cause severe rashes on most non-aquatic creatures and not because the water itself is poisonous. Obviously, if the water itself was poisonous, it would have been a very stupid move to build the city next to it. The "blood water" is easily made safe for consumption by boiling, which is why Shale's cuisine is heavy on soups, teas, and other brews.

*pop*

[Lleban]

Quicksilver men

A cabal of strange humanoids with their faces covered in a thick mask of quicksilver are occasionally found roaming the city, often ferrying a variety of cargo between the various wealthy districts of the city. These quicksilver masked humanoids never speak outside of the company of their reclusive masters. Among the public, its common sense never to attack, badger or otherwise impede the quicksilver men. While they have a degree of patience they will frequently lash out with extreme violence not stopping until their opponents are either crippled or dead.

[Xuc Xac]

their faces covered in a thick mask of quicksilver

How does that work? Quicksilver is just a fancy name for liquid mercury.

These quicksilver masked humanoids never speak outside of the company of their reclusive masters.

What do they sound like/talk about when their masters are around? Who are their masters? The rich people they deliver stuff to and from? The owners of the Quicksilver Shipping Company that is hired by rich people to deliver stuff?

Among the public, its common sense never to attack, badger or otherwise impede the quicksilver men. While they have a degree of patience they will frequently lash out with extreme violence not stopping until their opponents are either crippled or dead.

Wouldn't it be common sense not to attack, badger, or impede anybody? That's kind of part and parcel of the whole "living in a society" thing that "the public" does. Why do the authorities allow quicksilver men to lash out with extreme violence just because someone is getting in their way? Replace "quicksilver men" with "UPS/FedEx/DHL driver" and see how weird that is.

[Lleban]

How does that work? Quicksilver is just a fancy name for liquid mercury.

I Know that, I wanted to leave the exact mechanics either a mystery or for someone else.

What do they sound like/talk about when their masters are around? Who are their masters? The rich people they deliver stuff to and from? The owners of the Quicksilver Shipping Company that is hired by rich people to deliver stuff?

You got me there I'll add that. Ty

Wouldn't it be common sense not to attack, badger, or impede anybody? That's kind of part and parcel of the whole "living in a society" thing that "the public" does. Why do the authorities allow quicksilver men to lash out with extreme violence just because someone is getting in their way? Replace "quicksilver men" with "UPS/FedEx/DHL driver" and see how weird that is.

Something I can clarify but I assumed organized crime, thieves, etc... would be endemic to a setting like this. So they're probably plenty people that'd prob try to attack the conspicuous couriers carrying stuff for rich people.

[Xuc Xac]

Something I can clarify but I assumed organized crime, thieves, etc... would be endemic to a setting like this. So they're probably plenty people that'd prob try to attack the conspicuous couriers carrying stuff for rich people.

Organized crime is also a type of "local authority". Try stealing an expensive shipment from a dock that pays protection money to the Mafia or from a truck that pays a toll to the Yakuza to drive through their territory and see if they shrug and say "heh, stealing is cool".

[Lleban]

Do you have a suggestion to help me fix this issue then?

[Recherché]

Hmmm chrome looks a lot like quicksilver if you don't know what it is and chrome is solid. Maybe the masks are actually chrome and very highly polished? If the rest of the city doesn't know of/have access to chromium it would be an easy mistake to make.

[Lleban]

I think ill just change everything and post something else.

[Cluedrew]

Another one? Well, I'm up for another shot at recreating the glorious posts of threads past. Are we doing the numbering thing for this one? Well I can see we are not yet, but do we want to? Also nice to see you back Recherché. Although I suppose you may have been back for a while.

The Cellar Kingdom: Not a kingdom at all, or even a single organization, but a sort of help/gang network formed by the lowest and most downtrodden in the city. Run by the penniless and the homeless (a lowly house servant is a well off member), the best places it has access to tend to be the dark corners of cellars owned by others. These serve as meeting places and give it its name.

It varies across the city, as the people and actual organizations change between different families, gangs, races (mostly goblins, but there are others) and so on. They all look after their own, but how far that extends and how well they can varies. The last main uniting trait is a deep seated mistrust of anyone well off or strongly connected with the upper classes.

[DuctTapeKatar]

I always thought that numbering it helped keep track of posts, but I guess it was always more of a suggestion than anything.

[Xuc Xac]

Item #6: The Seven

Nearly all the city's inhabitants acknowledge the same 7 gods. However, there are literally dozens or even hundreds of different religions that disagree on the details. Some say the 7 gods are co-equals in a united pantheon. Some say one of the 7 is stronger and the leader of the gods. Some separate them into good/evil, male/female, lawful/chaotic, or other divisions. Some claim that only a fraction (or even just one) are real gods and the others are false gods, demons, or illusions of some sort. Some even say that the 7 are actually just faces or aspects of one god.

The citizens of Shale are a people divided by a common faith.

[Tvtyrant]

Organized crime is also a type of "local authority". Try stealing an expensive shipment from a dock that pays protection money to the Mafia or from a truck that pays a toll to the Yakuza to drive through their territory and see if they shrug and say "heh, stealing is cool".

Wells Fargo use to carry gatling guns, and assaulting a messenger was a death sentence in many ancient societies. Making messenger golems who have the right to kill in self-defense makes perfect sense, and leads to amazing Ocean' 11 style "rob the golem without getting killed" plots.

[flyinglemur]

Item #7: The nature of magic and the vents:
Magic is an important part of Shale, yet one most people would rather not talk about. Many industries use magic, like Clay and Blood. And indeed the city could not function without magic, as magical systems are needed to remove the smog produced in Shale's factories, which would otherwise simply be trapped by the earth and poison the inhabitants. The vents through which smog flows out are effectively small portals. The wizards who build and maintain them are a secretive lot who hide the nature of these portals and have refused to describe the other side, although they have always insisted that no living thing could survive, hence why no one has ever bothered to climb in.

This secretive, paranoid mindset is the dominant condition of most wizards in Shale. They always have a strange air about them, like they're worried about some calamity, or are being watched by something hidden. This has lead to wizards gaining a bad reputation. A stereotypical wizard is a highly eccentric salesperson, covered in strange scars, who stutters, rubs their hands constantly, and is always watching you, ready to yell at you for looking at the wrong thing in their shop. It's obvious that wizards are hiding something, and rumors abound that learning magic actually involves human experimentation, or cannibalism, or pacts with demons, or any number of shocking taboos. The truth is far more mundane. Becoming a wizard is difficult, as most wizards refuse to reveal their knowledge. So most aspiring magic users must become what wizards call "paper leeches", that is thieves of knowledge, spying on wizards, stealing their research notes and artifacts, and using those to study the nature of magic. This means that each paper leech must effectively rediscover magic themselves, using only the few scraps of knowledge that they can steal without being blasted into smithereens, and occasionally must turn even to kidnapping and murder to get what they want.

This cycle of theft and paranoia is self-perpetuating, and has helped stifle the development of magic in the city. No wizard will share knowledge, because they're afraid that people will notice that half their books are in someone else's handwriting. But that forces paper leeches to steal if they want to learn. So wizards never collaborate, they never share knowledge, and each wizard only has a very limited list of spells, just a drop of knowledge in the ocean of magic. They will find employment, and they will always live very comfortably, but they are doomed to be outsiders to society, spoken to only by suspicious customers who will never take their eyes off them, and who will leave as quickly as they can. And they will always be weighed down by that fear, that the people will learn what they really had to do for power. Because it would prove that they're not mystical men who pulled their knowledge from the void, or demons, or the earth itself, but pathetic frauds no better than the common gutter thief who could do so much more if they weren't such cowards. But that would require admitting that their life of theft and subterfuge has been a waste, and that wizards are effectively devouring themselves. As one notable wizard said on their deathbed, "Everyone becomes a wizard because they think magic is how you escape the crime and filth of this place, but it just pulls you in deeper."

[Xuc Xac]

Wells Fargo use to carry gatling guns

Wells Fargo used to cross wide expanses of unpatrolled wilderness. They didn't need gatling guns to travel across a city.

[Tvtyrant]

Wells Fargo used to cross wide expanses of unpatrolled wilderness. They didn't need gatling guns to travel across a city.

And Samurai in Japan in some eras could kill commoners for annoying them. Here we have a justification in the political corruption of the system, like 1920s policemen the quicksilver men are given important tasks but allowed tremendous room to act how they wish.

The concept of a license to kill isn't particularly farfetched.

[Xuc Xac]

#8: inverted lighthouses
The city is illuminated by giant lanterns suspended by long chains from the cavern ceiling far above. These lanterns hang several stories above the tallest buildings in the city. Ironically, they are inhabited by some of the city's lowliest inhabitants: each massive lantern is home to members of the Lamplighters Guild. The Lamplighters are mostly goblins, called "glow worms" for the distinctive fluorescent garb of their guild that they wear whenever they descend into the city for business (they are deliberately not stealthy). In exchange for maintaining the lighting system, the Lamplighters are given food and cash by the city authorities. It's an important job, but the large proportion of the city's residents who can see in the dark to some extent means that the Lamplighters are a great convenience but aren't completely indispensable

It's not unknown for the Lamplighters to alter the lighting schedule in exchange for payments or favors but they don't wish to overly disrupt their relationship with the city. Alterations scheduled a year or more in advance (for festivals or other observances) are cheaper and more common. Unscheduled darkness or light requested on short notice costs exorbitant amounts for a few minutes. A moment of dimming or a "twinkling" cascade across the ceiling in honor of significant events or the deaths of important people can usually be arranged more easily.

[Recherché]

#10 City Government(s)

There is no one government in charge of all of Shale. Centuries ago there were multiple warring factions and when the dust settled there were 9 groups each controlling one area of the city. Nowadays the Nine mostly cooperate with each other and the threat of open warfare has mostly receded. Still tensions do sometimes still rise up and sometimes the only thing keeping two factions from bloodshed is the threat of what the other 7 would do to them in response. The guilds and merchants also often play the role of peacemakers given that they operate across all of Shale and violence is bad for business. Spying, theft and assassination are open game though.

[Cluedrew]

And Samurai in Japan in some eras could kill commoners for annoying them. [...] The concept of a license to kill isn't particularly farfetched.

Or it being written off as self defence or an accident when it is clearly is not. It happens to this day in so-called-developed countries to this day.

#8: inverted lighthouses

Even the sun can be bought in this world. I like it.

Unfortunately I have no particular ideas myself at this time.

[Xuc Xac]

#11: The Gondoliers

One of the nine factions holding major territory in Shale are known as the Gondoliers. They get their name from their origin as gondola and barge operators on the city's central river and many canals, but that is now a minor part of their operations. They are effectively the city's department of public works. At some point in the past, they went from using canals to building them, which eventually expanded to street paving, plumbing, and sewer maintenance. They call streets "dry rivers" although the reason for it is lost. It may have been a joke or a serious justification of their claim over the streets.

The Gondoliers still do brisk business in shipping and transportation. They still have one of the largest fleets of barges and they collect taxes and fees from everyone else operating on their canals and roads. The Gondoliers are the main enforcers of the peace between the other 8 factions. If hostilities get so out of control that life and commerce are disrupted, the Gondoliers will issue warnings to the offenders to dial it back. If the warnings are unheeded, the aggressors will find their sewers closed off, which becomes unpleasant quite quickly.

[Gaslampgenie]

#12: Myconid Pests

As rooms and buildings collapse from erosion or poor construction, a host of crumbling ruins on the outskirts of the city are left unattended by all but the myconids, who creep and grow in every derelict hovel. The myconids are looked upon with disdain from the inhabitants of shale and are chased out and killed when they creep too far into the habitated parts of the city. Too prolific and elusive to eradicate, the myconids sustain a bare bones existence, feeding on the refuse from shale's denizens.

[DMwithoutPC's]

#13: The Chain Bridges

Shale was build on the remnants of an older city, as these things tend to. It stone structures can still be found at the bottom of the buildings and catacombes connecting the lower levels, as well as in the Chain Bridges. These giant chains reach throughout the cave and connect to the walls and ceilings. There are tunnels at the end of all of these chains, cut by Shale-ites or their neighbours, and these chains are a usual path for traveling to different levels of elevation in the underdark. This easy accessability makes Shale somewhat of a tradehub in these dark depths. In times of invasion, these chains can be severed to cut of one of the entrances from access to the city, but in Shales recent history, this has only been necessary once.

These chains are made of a green stone, probably copper rich, that is not native to this reagon. Also, they very clearly were not meant as walkways, but because they are so massively huge, four people can easily walk on them side by side. What was chained up here is unknown by the general public, but whatever it is, it's right underneath the city sprawl...

[Xuc Xac]

Beyond the walls and into that infinite black of caves and tunnels is a nightmarish landscape of terrible spirits and monsters, only warded off with the city's brilliant glare. This is not a fairytale for children, nor a place for holy crusaders. It is the underdark's only city, and it awaits you.[/FONT]

This easy accessability makes Shale somewhat of a tradehub in these dark depths. In times of invasion, these chains can be severed to cut of one of the entrances from access to the city, but in Shales recent history, this has only been necessary once.

Whom do they trade with or get invaded by?

[Tvtyrant]

Whom do they trade with or get invaded by?

We have a giant cavern full of chains suspended over canals, so I imagine the city produces fish and metal.

Maybe the canals feed into a large lake which has methane pools or a magical equivalent. Blindfish, aquatic monsters and aberrations live off of the lake worms that harvest this. Fishermen catch the monsters to sell to the people who live on the chains above, who are involved in the mining of deposits of rare materials.

Mithral, adamantium, sick stone, and psionic crystal deposits are found in small and varied veins around the city. Each requires specialization to mine and work, but don't exist in quantities sufficient to make focusing the city on extracting any individual one worth it. The city relies on small numbers of master smiths and miners specializing in a single material, and trades low but precious quantities of them for goods from outside the cavern.

[Gaslampgenie]

About once per month, a caravan of dark dwarves take the trek through the winding darkness to trade their goods in shale's markets for the precious stones mined beneath the suspended metropolis. They usually bring preserved meats, dwarven made trinkets/weapons, and a small collection of slaves.
The caravan only brings slaves that can survive the long journey through the underdark. Usually an eclectic collection of subjugated troglodytes, hearty humans, and dwarves from rivaling factions.
The preserved meats brought in by the caravan are from surface dwelling creatures like deer or horses and are held at a premium in Shale as they are a rare delicacy not often enjoyed by those living so far underground.

[Tvtyrant]

"I don't think I will ever forget my first taste of fresh vegetables. The cabbage cost my parents a months wages, five times as expensive as Dwarfcabbage (saurkraut), and preserved in a box of ice. The texture was so strange as to be almost abhorrent, what kind of food feels crispy?? Yet when it was gone all we could talk about was the cabbage. I didn't eat another for eight years."

[Gaslampgenie]

Dude, nice! That line brought me to shale!

We used to climb on the great green chains, and, as children, the height down to the ground far below the city never scared us. We would sit on the chains as they swayed gently with the rhythm of the city. You never really noticed the slight, gradual back and forth twisting movement within the city, the only indication you had that the city was moving was the muted clanking of the chains that hung over the streets as they collided, but out there on the green chains, you could feel it. It was like the city was dancing to the beat of the merchants and clerks and smiths going about their daily business, oblivious to the part they played in the silent waltz. Watching the miners far below move with their mine carts like so many little ants, it was easy to forget about what a dangerous and cruel place the city was.

[Bobbyjackcorn]

#14 The Order of Kal-Kantet

Deep veins of psionically charged crystal glow faintly in the shadowed streets of Shale, trailing up the stony walls and stalactites of most of the eastern half of the cavern. Thrumming with quiet power, this special substance is just a glowing stone to the commonfolk of Shale, however, one faction out of the nine who run the city know better. Known as the Order of Kal-Kantet or the Kantet Lae, this organization deals with all issues or threats to the city of a psychic nature, of which there are many.
Perhaps because of the psionic crystal formations themselves or perhaps because of powers drawn to or trapped within the area by that same resource, a very large number of the members of the city develop latent psychic power. For most, this is nothing more than a trick or two of irrelevant power- but for some, this power develops into a strong psionic presence, opening a denizen's third eye and forever revealing the psychic fields to their consciousness.
Long ago, these psions and psionic warriors who arose from the population were wild and unregulated. Often ambitious by nature, myriad tiny fractions formed and reformed, each swallowing the other in a never ending fight for control of the city's psychic resources. One day, an entity rose from the chaos, and with a message of cooperation, quelled the violence and infighting of the psionic community. None remembers their race, gender, or even their original name, all that is known about them is that they had a connection with the psionic crystal that suffuses the city with power, and could reach into people's minds using that connection. After quelling the warbands, they took on the self-invented title of Kal-Kantet (a title which seems to have no discernible connection to any language, and has no established meaning) and began teaching the psychics of the city how better to use their powers. The Order might have become the dominant power of the whole city in time...if the Kal-Kantet had lived.
Factions from the noble houses in those times had long watched as the city descended into the madness of these warring "psychic gangs" as they had been known among the elite- that never worried them. Now, with the whole force of the psychics under the banner of one brilliant teacher, they knew they had to act.
Officially, the Kal-Kantet never existed. Not anymore anyway. Powerful magic was weaved, and they were obliterated from existence: body, soul, and memory. However, some things transcend magic. Some memories can prove too strong even for spellcraft to wipe away. So it was that the very psychic stone itself of Shale kept an imprint of the Kal-Kantet, like a shadow left on a wall after it's source has gone. Years later, as the flagging and wilted remains of a psychic society who could not recall exactly how they had even joined together began researching the crytals, a breakthrough was made, and as one member of the whole discovered the secret of connecting to the crystal network, they also released the fragmented psychic remains of Kal-Kantet. Faceless, nameless save for a title, unpossessed of any memories, but possessing a wealth of inherent psionic knowledge, the spector offered freely to train and guide the people of Shale, on one condition: it demanded history. Everywhere that they can, the Order of Kal-Kantet, the Kantet Lae, must alter historical records to include the Kal-Kantet. Sometimes they are described as one race or gender, other times these details are omitted completely, but at every opportunity, the Order asserts that "Kal-Kantet was there" and "Kal-Kantet did that."
Today they are a powerful, thrumming society of eccentric historically revisionist psions, disconnected from reality and worshiping a psychic ghost of a being that- for all anyone can really tell- never really existed. They use the crystal as a network for spying, communication, and amongst the rare ascendants even a means of teleportation, commissioning great works of art to be made with it, and sold to merchants from other cities to spy.