Dungeons and Dragons RPG Settlement - City of Specularum

The Grand Duchy of Karameikos

Settlement Overview - City of Specularum

Specularum: The capital city of Karameikos has a population of 50,000 or more (the Traladarans don’t willingly cooperate in the census). It features a great deep-water bay through which much shipping moves, the well-defended royal palace of the Karameikos family, a foreign quarter, a dangerous slum called “The Nest“, several merchant districts, the walled-off Duke’s Park, and much more.

Its name means The Mirror City​ and used to be called Marilenev. Built just west of the point where the Highreach river enters the sea, Specularum is a trade city, with a good harbor, ample accomodations for traders and other visitors, and most visitors, and most of the comforts of civilization.​ The city is surrounded by the farmlands of the Estate of Marilenev, and the lands of Philip Vorloi border the Estate of Marilenev to the southeast.​ Specularum is ruled (through subordinates) by Stefan Karameikos III. Additional political power lies in the Merchants Guild, in the Church, and in wealthy families such as the Vorloi, Radu and Torenescu clans.​

The city, though large, is a crowded, noisy, dirty place – the epitome of the medieval city. The streets are mostly earthen, quite narrow (except for the major streets shown on the map), twisting, unlit and often unsafe. “Sanitation” consists of a small trench cut in the center of the street. Buildings are one- or two-story constructions made of crude brick or wood; a few are made of fired brick or stone.

Unique Settlement Laws

Military

Organisations

Travel Routes

Locations of Note

Important note: except where a wall is shown, the transition between neighborhoods is gradual, not sharp. When traveling from the rich Hill area to the affluent Bricktop neighborhood, all the traveler notices is that the dwellings slowly become less costly, slowly become smaller. Continuing on toward the Merchant District, the traveler will slowly see more and more businesses along the street, until they gradually crowd out residences altogether.

Neighbourhoods of Note

Bricktop – This is a more or less affluent area of town, halfway between the posh residences of the Hill and the Merchant District. It’s named for Bricktop Road, a major thoroughfare so called because it is made of brick. The Specularum slang term “Bricktop ” also indicates anything that’s of good quality. This area is characterized by small to medium-sized, expensive homes; the population here is mostly of Thyatian descent. Many merchants, ministerial aides, and other well-paid persons live here.

Duke’s Park – Not really an area of town, this is the walled-off forest park maintained for the Duke by his cousin, Lord Alexius Korrigan. The Duke and his family do some riding and hunting here; it’s like a small game preserve for the royal family.

Duke’s Stronghold – This is the castle of the Duke.

Foreign Quarter – This area of town, built outside the original city walls, is where most foreigners in Specularum live – this includes not only humans from other nations, but demihumans living within the city as well. As you might expect, street gangs tend to belong to one ethnic group or another and have heated clashes. Note: Thyatians don’t end up in the Foreign Quarter; they’re too much like the ruling Karameikians to be discriminated against.

The Hill – This is the posh area of town; the streets are all brick, the neighborhood broken up into numerous small walled estates. These estates belong to many of the most powerful persons in town – although the mighty Radu family does not live here. The Hill actually does, in part, lie on the lower slopes of the hill where

Lesser Merchant District – This isn’t a district for lesser merchants; it’s just the smaller of the two merchant districts in town. Because of its proximity to the Foreign Quarter, this is the district to come to for exotic foods and crafts; though smaller than the other district, it has a much wider range of goods.

Merchant District – This is the main merchant district of town. It’s the part of Specularum that never sleeps; many inns and taverns are open all night, and few shop owners – who mostly live above their places of business – will turn down a late-night sale when some frantic buyer comes hammering at their doors. All sorts of businesses and goods are to be found here: Mercenaries for hire, stables and livery, bakeries, meat-shops, sweet shops, jewelers, smiths, goldsmiths, silversmiths, fortune-tellers, carpenters, bricklayers, engineers, hostels, scribes, sages, alchemists, magic-users, thieves, entertainers, and just about anything else can be found here.

The Nest – This is the oldest, narrowest, dirtiest, and poorest section of town; the population is mostly Traladaran. The guardsmen do not venture here when they can avoid it, crime is king. When you want to have your characters beset by thieves and robbers, trapped in a labyrinthine maze of indistinguishable streets, this is the place to bring them.

North End – This is a mostly residential section of town; many people who work as servants within the city or as seasonal laborers in the surrounding Estate of Marilenev live here.

Old Quarter – This is what the Nest was about thirty years ago. It has the same narrow streets and same tight-packed humanity, but crime, while frequent, is not quite as prevalent as the Nest. The population here, again, is mostly Traladaran.

South End – This area is basically the same as the North End. This is a mostly residential section of town; many people who work as servants within the city or as seasonal laborers in the surrounding Estate of Marilenev live here.​

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