Caracen (Dominaria Supplement)
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| [[Image:|200px|center]] | |
| Size | |
| Large City | |
| Power Center | |
| Divided Rule, Marshall Arman Pter, Tier 4, The Cult of the Great Unclean One, Tier 3* | |
| Alignment | |
| Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil | |
| Adult Population | |
| X | |
| Gold Limit | |
| X gp | |
| Language & Diversity | |
| Cormyri, Homogenous (90% Cormyri Human, 10% Elves) | |
History
Caraçen is one of the former High Seats of Cormyr, and has the distinction of being an ancient Elector of the Kingdom of Cormyr. The city has existed in its current state since the mid-Third Age. It was extensively rebuilt after the XXXX
As a result of the rebuilding effort, Caraçen straddles both sides of the river, stretching north to encompass the North Shore port district with a curtain wall and chained river locks.
City
The city of Caraçen and the North Shore district are surrounded by a stout wall and clear cut fields. Local farmers work in and around abandoned lands and houses picked clean during the Storm War. Any traveler approaching the city will find the roads absent usual towns and taverns, none of these were rebuilt following the war and the farmers that resettled the area are not interested in visitors. Even so, the city appears normal at a distance. On closer inspection though, it becomes obvious that this is more a mass of people than a city, living in the bones of what once was. The city was repaired after the siege, but these repairs focused on the walls, fortifications, and municipal areas. The city walls are now a solid hodgepodge of ancient magically formed monoliths, later Third Age ramparts, and the hastily built stone-faced earthen walls that the Stormlord's engineers built. The city's bridges, cisterns, and sewers were also repaired - as were two of the five bastions that once anchored the wall. These were the bastions near the St. Andrew (east) and Victory (west) gates into the city proper and are heavily garrisoned by the Marshal's men.
The people of the city however, were casually disregarded. Caraçen was not willingly "liberated" by the Stormsworn armies and fell only after a heavy siege. The conquering army made no provisions for them and only rebuilt sections of the city needed to house support elements and stage baggage trains. So to this day, a third of the city lies abandoned or in squalor. Aside from the devastation of the siege, fires raged through the Argentan and Elven districts during the siege, and the Stormlord had the noble district looted and put to the torch. As a large city most was not destroyed, but almost all of it was damaged or looted. So most streets bustle with people, some even successful or happy, but it is impossible to miss the piles of rubble pushed to the side or the buildings shuttered for a decade.
The Marshal Arman Pter holds control of the city from the halls of the Court of Lazar, but he does not rest easy on his oak throne. Marshal Pter, formerly commander of the Cormyri III Legion, took power from the Stormlord's appointed governor when the Stormlord died, and cobbled together the tenuous relationship that holds the city out of pure chaos today. He XXX
Locations
- The Victory Gate: The Eastern gate of the city is the only remaining relic of the original city. The construction is notably old, using massive monoliths of magically formed stone, and the more modern decorations do little to distract from their bizarre size. The four towered gatehouse now stands scarred but upright. Fell banners of the ruling Stormsworn Marshal Pter and the mortifying skin banners of the Great Unclean One are forboding but out of place on the magnificent structure. The surrounding walls only match the gatehouse for a short while though. Less than a bowshot south this ancient wall meets the more modern construction. This modern wall was breached in several places and those scars are barely repaired a decade later. To the north of course, lies the river and the devastated landscape on the north bank. Inside the gate, the typical Imperial Market still thrives and bustles, but under the watchful gaze of cult priests and the Marshal's enforcers. The trophy statuary in the center of the mall is mostly defaced, as are the victory obelisks that once proudly stood on the market's edge.
- Grand Temple of Sister Gabrielle d'Isen: This Temple and monastery complex of Pelor was constructed during the religious renaissance that followed the Great Magical Purge and the fall of the Second Imperium. Built as a place of worship, reflection, and study, the complex once boasted the third largest Temple, third largest monastery and convent, and the largest religious university in the West. This complex was the scene of the most heinous fighting during the fall of Caraçen and the city's defenders (House troops, Temple Guard, and IX and XIII Legion men alike) made their last stand within it's stout and storied walls. The large complex forms a backstop to Caraçen's Market, and has been occupied since the fall of the city by cults of the Stormlord and the darker forces that followed as he fell. At present, it's the only part of the city proper that the cults have a foothold in. The most powerful, and therefore most dangerous, of these is the Cult of the Great Unclean One. This particularly foul cult has managed to become the dominant religious force in the city and has made the North Bank their stronghold in western Cormyr. The interior of the complex is a mystery to all but those in aligned cults and those clergy to the Cabal that pay their tax.
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