Stirge City

Game Description

Stirge City
System: dnd 3.5
Method: PbP via myth-weavers
Setting: Homebrew 3.5 (vanilla feel, urban)
Books: Core, Cityscape, Arms&Equip, any others case-by case.
(this means no Bovd, no completes unless I approve)
Classes: any combination
Races: all core, plus kobold, goblin, orc, trog, lizardfolk, etc. (kobold and goblin get a -.5 LA -- talk to me.)
Level: 1 (2 if I get enough complaints)

character creation guidelines:
characters start at first level, with the exception of kobolds and goblins.
Abilities are rolled on 2d6+6, where I can see. if you know me in RL, we'll do it on a tabletop, otherwise, roll them here.
Appearance does not coincide with charisma - it is assumed that you are of average beauty, unless you'd like to roll for it when you generate your stats.
I'll generate your character's last name, and if you'd like to be minor nobility, you need to talk to me. Nobility comes with advantages and disadvantages that you'll need to deal with in-game.
I'd like a general idea of your character's occupation and where he/she lives, as well as his general outlook on life.
(the main theme is a faction war where the PCs have to take sides - if we happen to reuse this party for a campaign, you will be entangled - see the bottom of the flavor post)
PLEASE don't ask to join if you can't be on much during thanksgiving! If you apply and don't show up for gametime, I will be VERY disappointed.
If everyone has a good time and wants some more, we will continue the game over winter break!


Here we have the city – The diverse city, the city of gold, the city of prospects – the city Stirge. It is rich and plentiful, yet broken and poor. Rising above the skyline are the palace, the arena, and the university. Below its roots are the sewers, the basements, and the underground.
Something’s happening to the city. But only a few can tell. It is here that heroes grow and prosper, in the shadow of the arena, but it is also where they soon will fall. None of the great adventurers know, but a small few are about to find out.

The City:

tl;dr

Stirge City is a City that is both rich in assets, and filled with poverty. The nobles and merchants keep their coffers full by dabbling in trade with the Black Valley, the vast Elven Woods, and the port cities, Shark to the East and Squid to the South. As the major cross-roads of Acco, caravans are constantly coming into and out of Stirge City, employing many small-time dealers and big-time merchants.
Bounded by a high wall, Stirge barely contains all of the people who bustle in and out about their business. With many suburbs outside and scattered around the neighboring farmlands, the gates are scarcely closed, but yet necessary to keep the wild creatures at bay.
What seems like long ago by now, but was only about two hundred years ago, the Arena was built, probably to house some gigantic, epic battle that decided the fate of the entire world. A gigantic, permanent field surrounds it, keeping all magic inside the arena, and the watchers safe and sound. It must have been cast at the building’s completion, by a very powerful wizard, and after many years of study. Now, it only requires the attention of a few, much less powerful wizards, to keep it perfectly safe.
The Arena is much of what keeps Stirge City bustling, prosperous, and safe. A franchise owned by a huge board of merchants, it pays adventurers and gladiators to come and battle for glory and fame, while denizens of the city pay to watch and bet on the outcomes of the many various battles. Entire caravans of nobles travel from other cities, just to spend a few days or a fortnight watching epic battles and shopping in Stirge’s vast market of curios and metals.
The marketplace quarter of Stirge is equally huge, and in it can be found all manner of curios, keepsakes, services, and exotica. The market streets bustle and glitter, and the noise of the criers can outshine even the roars from the coliseum. Many of the citizens from the monstrous quarter use their talents to make beautiful crafts and delicacies for the better-off in the city.
Stirge City is a huge attractant for the lower races of humanoid – kobolds, goblins, orcs, troglodytes, even werewolves, vampires, and other powerful creatures. Stirge is extremely permissive in allowing so many of these strange creatures to dwell within its walls, as they could never find a home anywhere else, but, so long as they don’t cause trouble, they are allowed to make their livings within the city. Some of these strange citizens take this privilege seriously, but many do not, and cause trouble for the rest by running a black market underneath the city.
Though the City is permissive in what races may hold citizenship, it is quite strict in other ways. Any creature caught committing a crime of enough severity will be sold into the small slave market. Many creatures make their living buying and selling these slaves to the nobles for housework, or even to the arena for sword-fodder. Of course, any slave that survives one of these sessions is offered a permanent stable contract, but that’s not a much better living than slavery.
One of the crimes that can get a creature convicted into the slave market is killing without a Guild Permit – The Guilds hold almost as much sway in the city as the arena – in fact, the Guildhall Representatives consider the Arena to be just another Guild, which, for all practical purposes, it is.
The nobles themselves are not all frippery people with air in their heads, oh no. It takes a swift tongue and a quick wit to stay alive and in power in the Stirge City political scene. (After all, most of its upper class is educated by trained killers) Families are tight-knit, and afford their own internal politics and power-struggles. Any given noble family probably has a monopoly on some service or good, and they prefer very much to keep it that way.
Holding almost as much land as the nobles and guild sections of town is the temple row – as Stirge has so many things going on at any given time, the common folk require spiritual guidance to help them navigate the often dangerous alleys and corridors of the city. Needless to say, many tithes are gathered by the churches of temple row, as it is the only portion of the city with a large amount of free space – beautiful grassy gardens and clear ponds are maintained by these churches, which can really brighten a commoner’s day. Also, the amount of rummage sales they host can be quite mind-boggling.

So there you have the City. It is teeming with life and wonder – on the surface, in the sewers, and above the highest towers. Yet it is also teeming with squabbles, fighting, and much vying for power. Lately, a few of the noble houses have been accusing the lower races of some terrifying crimes, and they are getting pushed further and further from their once safe sanctuary. Those who feel that the Lower races are unfit to live in such a beautiful city wear gold and red bands on their arms, wrap their swords in gold and red ribbon, or otherwise display some obvious gold and red clothing. Those who believe in tolerance and justice wear blue and white in the same manner. which side will our heroes take? which side will prevail?