After fleeing the lower level, a group of aristocratic citizens formed a council and drafted a new city charter for the upper level, renaming the city Haven. They sought the aid of master engineers and wizards to help construct stable walkways and buildings that could rise high into the air. The final touch was the construction of two large causeways over the old Tarathon gates to allow traffic from the port to reach the city.
Upper Haven or, as locals prefer to call it, Haven is a bustling merchant city. Ships from all over the known world flock to its docks to bring goods to trade and move up the Tarathon River to the farming communities along its banks. Additionally, Haven is known as a free city. Though a predominately human settlement, it does not recognize Belanthia to its south as a governing state. Instead, the people of Haven pride themselves on governing themselves. The city council is made up of civic leaders, merchants, and academics. It presides over the daily government of the city including the city watch, engineering, and maintenance.
The streets of Haven are, for the most part, wooden walkways that span the existing streets in the lower city below. These have been shored up with support beams to allow for the extra weight of foot traffic. On the busier streets around the markets, clay tiles have been laid down over the walkways to more evenly disperse the weight of animals and carts.
With little rain through most of the year and minimal foliage, the architecture of Haven has evolved to allow for airflow and heat reflection. Most of the buildings are made of adobe or clay bricks and often have plaster exteriors to repel the heat of the surrounding landscape. They feature balconies, breezeways, terraces, wide arches, domes, porticos, and colonnades. Many of the larger homes are riads built around a central garden or courtyard where the family and guests dine under the cool evening air.
Game Statistics
Neutral Good large city
Corruption +2; Crime +2; Economy +1;
Law +0; Lore +3; Society +7
Qualities
· Academic: Haven possesses both a Tower of the Threefold Path, a wizards’ academy and the Chronicler’s College, a bardic college of great renown.
· Gambling - Casinos, gaming houses, opium dens and bordellos are all common here, and serve as one of the town's major industry.
· Strategic Location – Haven sits at the mouth of the Tarathon River and is a vital port for goods moving up stream to the farming communities along the river.
· Trading Post – Haven is a bustling center of trade and commerce. Merchants from the world over come here to exchange goods and hire crews.
· Under-city – From time to time, denizens make their way up from Lower Haven, the dangerous lower level which is filled with monsters and a den of criminals and outcasts. The buildings and streets of its abandoned areas are almost dungeon-like.
Danger +30
Demographics
Government Council
Population 12,000 (5,000 humans; 3,000 dwarves; 2,000 elves; 1000 gnomes; 1000 half-elves; 500 halflings; 500 other)
Notable NPCs
The Argent Company, famous mercenary company; Master Darius Bronzefist (CN male dwarf aristocrat/rogue)
Venerable Councilman, Alutys al’ Makyry (NG male elf aristocrat)
Loremaster of the Chroniclers, Melchior of Tarathon (N male human bard/loremaster)
Master of the Haven Tower of the Threefold Path, Mistress Aliana (LG female human wizard)
Marketplace
Base Value 8,800 gp; Purchase Limit 100,000 gp; Spellcasting 8th
Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4
Some settlement qualities taken from Cityscapes: New Settlement Options for the Pathfinder RPG.)
All statistics are printed here for use under the Open Game License.
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