S1. Dreaming Street: While there are a wide variety of bars and taverns in the rest of the city, as well as a number of brothels, drug dens, and gambling establishments discreetly scattered across the various districts, Dreaming Street takes things to a whole different level. Name the activity, and you can probably engage in it on Dreaming Street—if you can meet the price.
History
Freeport has always had a Dreaming Street; the pirates who founded the city were not about to deny their vices in their own home. It wasn’t until Captain Drac made Freeport “respectable” that Dreaming Street was considered disreputable—and even that had little effect on its popularity. There’s always been a Dreaming Street and there always will be. True, outcry from the more upstanding citizens sometimes results in a token round of arrests, brothel raids, and gambling house closures. But it’s never more than a charade—no one in power really wants Dreaming Street to change or vanish. Many rich men and women from the Merchant District and the Old City (not to mention members of the Sea Lord’s Guard) travel to Slums District to indulge their tastes for pleasure. Money often changes hands to avoid inconveniencing someone important with a raid or to ensure a crime goes uninvestigated.
As long as what happens in Dreaming Street stays on Dreaming Street, the Watch is willing to look the other way. The Captains’ Council sees the street as a sort of safety valve, a place where the darker urges of the city’s inhabitants can be safely exercised, with no one really getting hurt. Unfortunately, that thinking is completely unrealistic. There are some truly disturbing and sick activities taking place in the back rooms and basements of the ramshackle buildings of Dreaming Street. Ritual torture, forced prostitution, drug addiction, ritual murder, the veneration of forbidden gods—if a perversion has a name, chances are it’s happening on Dreaming Street.
No criminal organization dominates Dreaming Street; most of the folks there are independent operators. Over the years, the “businessmen” of Dreaming Street have become quite proud of their independent status, only pulling together for one thing: keeping any outside organization from taking over the street. Which is not to say that Finn, Mister Wednesday, or any of the other lesser criminal figures of the city don’t have interests and followers on Dreaming Street—just that none of them can claim control of the Street (or the rest of Slums District for that matter). This situation makes Dreaming Street a great place to enter the world of professional vice—and the site for constant low-level hostility between the warring criminal powers of Freeport.
Description
Dreaming Street runs several blocks—in truth, it’s a neighborhood now, not a single street, but the name has stuck. Ramshackle old buildings slump against each other in all directions, lining dirt roads that teem at night with customers and victims. Some venues display their wares for all to see: prostitutes lean from balconies cajoling passersby, while doormen shout out the virtues of gambling halls and floor shows. Other operations are more circumspect and less friendly to strangers, and it takes the right knock on a locked door to allow access.
Some of Dreaming Street’s venues attempt to provide the illusion of luxury inside, draping red velvet over rotting floorboards and dressing whores in second-hand ball gowns. But the beauty is only skin-deep and purposely so; anyone who truly wants luxury goes elsewhere for it. In other corners of the street, even a pretense of beauty (or cleanliness) is too much effort; the patrons of a drug den don’t care that their refuge from the world is a filthy hovel crawling with vermin. Dreaming Street is a place of masks, and the faces behind those masks can be ugly.
Prominent NPCs
Lady Jeyne: (female human) Lady Jeyne is the madam of the Torchlight Academy, one of the most popular brothels on Dreaming Street. No one takes her claim of being a member of an aristocratic family very seriously—but if she wants to call herself a “lady,” no one’s going to argue with her. Aristocrat or not, Lady Jeyne is one of the most influential vice mongers of Dreaming Street; she has clients in high places, several well-armed thugs as retainers, and is rumored to have some skill in witchcraft. And she bears a grudge.
Largo Dorn: (male human) Largo Dorn spends most days leaning against a wall in the mouth of an alley, scrutinizing passersby and saying nothing. But if someone walks up to him and says the right phrase, gives him the right amount of money, and has the right amount of desperation on their face, he leads them back into the shadows, to the door of a drug den and a wide array of illegal narcotics. A veteran of Dreaming Street, Dorn sold his morals and conscience years ago; he’s allied with Finn, who supplies the dwarf with drugs and occasionally pays him to harass or kill off a rival entrepreneur.
Jaxx: (male elf) A thin, naturally handsome half-elf with carefully groomed blond hair, Jaxx is usually seen wearing a forest green cloak as wanders around Dreaming Street. He is perpetually optimistic, friendly and well-spoken, and he is constantly on the lookout for work. Has has held a variety of different jobs since he arrived in the city, and is happy to share tales from his experiences as a dock hand, warehouse guard, storekeeper's assistant, and many others.
Timothy: (male human) A skinny ten year old with unruly blond hair, a lean, freckled face and big, active gray eyes. Timothy smiles frequently, revealing a chipped front tooth, and sports a prominent scar over his right eyebrow. He goes barefoot and wears patched, secondhand clothing - an untucked, loose-fitting shirt that's a couple of sizes too big belted over baggy black pants rolled up to mid-calf. Although generally dusty, he is cleaner than would be expected for a street urchin. He has a diverse and colorful vocabulary, and is rarely afraid to use it. He enjoys listening to local elders tell tall tales, and occasionally sneaks out to the Pavilion to watch the duels there. While he has sometimes had to steal to provide for himself, he dreams of becoming a famous adventurer. He will cheerfully listen to anyone who can tell such stories.
S2. The Pelican: (INN) This seedy inn is nothing more than a doze filthy rooms for rent over an even seedier little pub, seemingly little different than dozens of other such joints in Slums District. A copper will get you a watered down beer, and two more some pub fare (sausages, meat pies, etc.) to go with it. The menu is limited, the decor is dreary and run down, and the locals are surly. But the price is right and the owner, Jamison, is friendlier than you'd expect.
History
The Pelican is a typical Slums District inn. The messy, run-down building has been owned by many different people over the years, and has been used for almost as many different purposes. Jamison bought it from the previous owner a year or so ago, and changed the name to match the star of one of his more popular seafaring tales.
Description
The Pelican is a two-story building of old, stained timbers. Rather than paint a sign at the front, Jamison nailed a stuffed pelican over the doorway, and superstition prevents thieves from taking it. Narrow alleyways at the side and back of the building are the tavern’s “outhouse,” and rats skulk in the shadows, watching the patrons go about their business.
Inside, the tavern is much like any of its rivals in the district—low, dirty, dark, and full of drunken sailors. Rats can occasionally be seen scuttling under tables or hiding in the corners. A plate of pies sits atop the bar, rarely touched. An unpleasant smell can occasionally be detected over the stink of unwashed patrons; it gets notably worse in the tavern’s large cellar, where Jamison keeps barrels of rum.
Prominent NPCs
Jamison: (male human) A graying, sad-eyed man, Jamison worked as a marine on several merchant ships over the years and he has some entertaining, if tall, tales to tell of his time at sea, roving the world wide. He even claims the gold he used to buy the Pelican was given to turn by a beautiful mermaid (is there any other kind?). He dresses in a mix of his old seafaring outfits, and is known for wearing a yellow silk cloak he acquired during his travels through the seas to the south.
S3. Alchemist’s Guildhall: Some forty years ago, a mysterious group of Alchemists selected Freeport as their new home. It was a glorious event, celebrated with much fanfare and ebullient spectacles, all of which left their mark on the imagination of Freeport’s citizens. With pride, the city of Freeport accepted the Alchemits, believing thattheir strange skills and powers wouls benefit the city.
History
locals remember the founding of the Alchemists’ Guild vividly. Pyrotechnics filled the sky, immaculately clad djinn flew through the streets waving shimmering banners, and dozens of waterspouts exploded in the harbor in tribute to the power of wizardry. Stories of its marvels are still recounted in taverns across Freeport. The guild has a great degree of latitude, enjoying far more freedom than other citizens do. To ensure the continuation of their agreeable relationship, the guild provides its services to the city’s government for free or at a drastically reduced price. For instance, the wooden Warehouse that houses the Office of Public Records in the Warehouse District is filled to the rafters with piles of extremely flammable paper. The guild maintains a series of wards to suppress fire and prevent it from going up like a tinderbox if someone were to drop a torch. Additionally, the guild has agreed to participate fully in any defense of the city from outside invaders. So long as the guild is willing to assist the city in its public, and sometime not-so-public, needs, the wizards are free to do as they please.
Description
The Guild Hall is a large, grey stone building that stands in the center of the Slums District, towering over the decrepit buildings and shanties that surround it.. Its strong grey stone walls are pierced only once by a pair of two large black iron doors. There are no other signs of adornments, only a pair of ever-burning alchemist fire torches flanking the doors. The bright blue and green flames serve outsiders and thieves as a reminder of the power of Alchemy. Just inside is a public area—the only one in fact. It is an airy atrium with a high ceiling fitted with skylights. Mute guards, whom few believe are human, prevent access to the recesses of the building and bar the way of any who dare to enter without the express approval of a guild member. Not even the Sea Lord can enter without the permission of Tarmon or Thorgrim, the guild’s Lord Defender. The chambers so zealously guarded are mostly laboratories and apartments for guild members and apprentices. The real treasure, however, is its laboratory. Whispers of strange concoctions and evil contraptions occasionally filter out of the place, but the Guild assures any who query that the laboratories are only for “research.”
Prominent NPCs
Master Argyle: (male human) Tarmon is the founder and director of the Alchemists’ Guild. The Master is a very influential men in Freeport because of his unique skills
S4. Freeport Fishery: One of the staples of every local’s diet is fish harvested from the fertile seas around the Serpent’s Teeth. The harvesting and preservation of this vital foodstuff was long ago determined too vital to be left solely in private hands, so the Freeport Fishery is actually funded and administered by the Captains’ Council.
History
It says a lot about the priorities of Freeport’s founders that the fishery was established after Dreaming Street—but not long after; a pirate has to eat, after all. Originally, the fishery was an informal coalition of fisherman and traders, operating from a few shacks on the Slums District piers. It soon became a focus of crime, racketeering, and price fixing, not to mention poor hygiene. After one too many summers marked by outbreaks of botulism and ludicrously high prices, Captain Drac personally stepped in (legend has it food poisoning caused by bad clams was the last straw). The criminal elements were driven out, several fishmongers were arrested, the entire operation was overhauled, and control of the fishing industry was passed to the newly created Ministry of Fisheries.
Decades later, the fishery runs as smoothly and efficiently as anything in Freeport can. Fishing boats tie up every morning at the pier to dump the dawn catch; longshoremen haul the fish to the processing building, and there, workers clean, slice, and prepare the fish for sale. Ministry observers track every stage of the operation, making sure everyone does their job correctly and that fishermen are properly paid for their catch. But these officials are, of course, open to bribes.
In addition to the processing operation, the fishery’s market is one of the few places (other than Dreaming Street) that draws upstanding citizens into the squalid streets of Slums District. All manner of fresh seafood can be found in the market, from large tuna and swordfish caught in the deep waters, to crabs and scallops from nearby lagoons and coves. Even exotic fare like squid and oysters are readily available most of the year.
Description
The fishery proper is a large warehouse on the edge of Slums District, several piers feeding into its rear entryway. It’s far better maintained than most buildings in the district, but decades of salt air, fish guts, and seagull droppings have stained it a variety of unpleasant colors. In front of the fishery, stalls and outbuildings spill out into the fish market square, and tarpaulins and umbrellas keep the sun and the gulls off the merchandise.
Surprisingly, the interior of the fishery isn’t as smelly or as hot as visitors would expect; the Ministry pays the Wizard’s Guild for an enchantment that keeps the internal temperature low, even in the height of summer. More than sixty workers take care of buying, inspecting, gutting, and preserving the day’s catch from the fisherman that work the waters around the islands. Another twenty-five men and women maintain and administer the market area. The fishery also contains a small shrine to the God of the Sea, and most of the fishermen are avid worshippers. A priest from the temple visits the shrine once a week, and every spring, there is a ceremonial blessing of the fishermen. Nearly everyone in Slums District tries to attend this solemn ceremony, since they know the fishermen’s catch is their best hope to eat in the coming year.
Aside from the area near the tanneries in the Eastern District, the few blocks around the fishery are some of the worst smelling in the entire city. On a hot summer day, the locals say the stench knocks seagulls out of the sky. All the fish guts dumped into the water also attract sharks. When gang members decide to send someone swimming with the sharks, the piers near the fishery are popular launching points for their victims.
Prominent NPCs
Mortimer: (male human) The post of Minister of Fisheries is a coveted political appointment. The current minister is Mortimer Quango, a former actuary who scored the job by bribing influential public servants. He is an unremarkable-looking man, known mainly for his determined sycophancy and consistent ability to impress the city's politicians.
S5. S'Thar's Revenge (GAMBLING HALL) Few now living in Freeport know or care about the historical presence of the former Church of Holy Retribution. This small but fanatically devout sect of inquisitors built a temple in Slums District to defend Freeport from infernal influence, but it faded into the fog of history decades ago, leaving little behind. Now the old derelict temple has been reborn—as S'Thar's Revenge; a nightclub and gambling hall that teases customers with hints and promises of dark, blasphemous powers behind the scenes.
History
For a brief time, the Church of Holy Retribution held the fate of Freeport in its hands. In the years before the Great Raid, the church brought its inquisition to Freeport—not to bring down the pirates but to ferret out diabolists, fiends, and supernatural evils, of which the city had its fair share. When word came of a “demonic invasion” targeting Freeport, the church’s inquisitors assembled an army of followers and loyalists and sailed out to meet the demons on the island of Devil’s Cry, somewhere outside the Serpent’s Teeth. They never returned.
For two centuries, the remnants of the church limped along, a handful of aging priests performing sporadic services to an empty temple, while the inquisition and their crusade faded into legend. The last members of the church vanished shortly before the Succession Crisis; there was a rumor that demonic forces had reached out to destroy them or opened a door to hell within the temple, but no one really cared enough to confirm it. The decaying building became a hideout for thieves and a flophouse for transients, a giant waste of space too gloomy to reclaim, too historic to tear down.
Then a few years ago, the temple was sold to Soranis, a mysterious Dark-Elf merchant from Corwyn. His crew of tight-lipped assistants spent weeks refurbishing the derelict temple, while rumors spread about Pine’s background—that he was a cultist, a demon-worshiper, an inquisitor. When the rumors reached fever pitch, the doors opened to the Mouth of Hell—a massive gambling hall, brothel, and nightclub, right in the heart of Slums District! Playing on the use of “S'Thar” as a slang term for “gambling den,” Pine built a place where the dealers boast of their crookedness, gamblers are encouraged to bet their own souls, the women claim to be demonic temptresses, and blasphemy is the order of the day. It’s all for show, of course; anyone who really tries to bet their soul is talked out of it, the games are no more crooked than those in any gambling den, and the women are no different than the whores of Dreaming Street. But the show works wonders, and S'Thar's Revenge has become one of Slums District’s main attractions, stealing customers from Dreaming Street and giving jobs to unemployed locals. Everyone’s happy with the hall of blasphemous joys, except for a few devout stragglers, who mutter darkly about the insult to the inquisition and the black schemes of hell. And no one listens to people like that anymore.
Description
The Church of Holy Retribution was built from black stone and masonry—a brooding two-story cathedral covered in gargoyles, cornices, iron spikes, and other sternly devout decorations. A bell tower rises above the building, though the bell is long gone. The church decayed badly over the decades, but Soranis and his employees have done extensive repairs, and it’s in better shape than ever. Strange torches of magical purple flames burn at all times outside the massive double doors of the former temple, which open at sundown to admit the titillated gamblers and drinkers of the city.
A single, enormous room takes up most of the interior of the club—the former chapel to the lost God of Retribution, now occupied by gaming tables. A stage has been placed where the altar used to be, and local minstrels and entertainers desperately vie for a chance to perform. Side rooms—once naves, cells, and drawing rooms—now house bars, a restaurant, and private rooms. Several more private rooms occupy the loft and bell tower, where the courtesans of the hall entertain their clients. Extensive cellars house food and drink supplies, storerooms, and quarters for some of the staff. However, much of the cellar region remains untouched; a lingering pall of danger haunts these rooms, the memory of the black powers that once fought the lost saviors of the city. A few sages suspect that there may be secret passages in the cellars leading to the sewers but no one is inclined to investigate—just in case something unholy really is waiting at the other end.
Prominent NPCs
Soranis: (male Drow elf) This Dark-Elf has cultivated a reputation as a trickster, a manipulator, a consorter with dark powers, and a dabbler in black magic. While some of that is true, the truth is that Soranis is a businessman and a showman. He knows the financial value of novelty and that people will pay to pretend they’re transgressing their own morality. He figures the thrill of S'Thar's Revenge will wear off in a few years, and then he and Elisath will move on to the next opportunity. In the meantime, he’s making lots of money—and being very careful not to overplay his hand. He’s not just worried about getting in trouble with the local clergy—there are too many stories about the inquisition for him to be entirely comfortable in the lowest cellars of his nightclub.
Elisath: (female Drow elf) A slender and ravishing Dark-Elf, Elisath keeps her white hair long, with loose curls touching her backside. Her purple eyes are bright, mesmerizing, and suggestive. Her ebony skin is flawless. If she were any more flamboyant, she'd be arrested. Elisath saunters around the Gambling Hall with a sly smile on her face, always charming to customers. But she serves as the head of security for the Hall and Soranis bodyguard (and some say, lover!) Few have seen how deadly this Drow can be with her agility skills and use of hidden poisoned blades under her cloak.
S6. The Sea Witch: (TAVERN) One of the roughest taverns in Slums District is the dilapidated structure that lies at a fishmonger’s warehouse at the very end of one of the shorter piers. Even the Broken Mug down in the Harbor District has a better reputation than the Sea Witch. And that was before the Sea Witch became the headquarters for the Blackened Knot, a group of racist vigilantes commanded by Freeport’s former hangman. These days, no one with any standards comes to the Sea Witch which still leaves it with plenty of customers.
History
A local named Enoch converted this unused warehouse into a tavern over fifty years ago. Everyone thought he was crazy to open a tavern at the end of a pier instead of on Dreaming Street, but he quickly proved the naysayers wrong. Mind you, he did it through volume of customers and not quality. Still, the Sea Witch has a loyal clientele who are happy to endure the nightly fistfights and occasional knifings for the low price of the booze. The tavern’s location also led to its sanguine name. One night, during a particularly violent storm, a strange old crone came into the tavern, and began chanting mysteriously. The old owner; Enoch, and many of his patrons openly mocked the old woman and eventually threw her out of a tavern window into the harbor below. It was believed she died that day, but that wasn’t the end of the story. As the days and weeks passed, several of the patrons present began getting sick and dying. Many more stayed away, and the old tavern went bankrupt. Old Enoch left town about ten years ago, broke and sickly himself. Before he left, he sold the Sea Witch to a pair of brothers. Garen and Perth. The brothers maintained everything just the way the Sea Witch’s patrons like it—cheap booze, lousy entertainment, tolerance for fights, and a reinforced floor. They might have thought that made for loyal customers, but they didn’t figure in human belligerence and fear. The brother’s first mistake was getting involved with a local thug named Abel, who was the leader of a gang of thugs called the Black Knots. The two brothers refused to pay protection to the Black Knots, then after Perth drowned mysteriously. Garen agreed to sell to Abel, but upon leaving, loudly told Abel he should watch his back for killing his brother. Garen was found stabbed to death a week later.
Description
The Sea Witch sits at the end of a pier, not far from the fishery. It is located on the second story of a dilapidated fisherman’s warehouse with windows that look out over the harbor and one large door. The wood of the building is slimy and stained from years of salty air and lack of maintenance, and the constant stink of blood, fish, and salt hangs in the air from the fishery below. There’s a rusty sign above the door at the top of a rickety staircase leading up from the pier. One thing is well known in the Sea Witch; if you’re not welcome, you get thrown down those stairs. The interior of the building is even less inviting. A low bar runs along one side, barrels of rotgut and beer sitting behind it. Low tables and stools fill the room, all of them dirty and in bad repair. A small door leads to a privy—a hole in the floor overlooking the water—and a storage room where the gang keeps tools and weapons. The only thing in good repair in the tavern is the floor, which is reinforced with multiple layers of planks.
Prominent NPCs
Abel: (male human) Abel is a thickset middle-aged man, bald with a thick moustache, his arms and hands crisscrossed with scars and burn marks. He was once the chief hangman of the Old City Court, a trusted instrument of Freeport justice—he used his access to the courts to frame innocents in return for payment from the city’s crime lords. When evidence of his guilt got out, Abel spent a few years in the Sea-Lord’s dungeon before being spat out, broke and disgraced, into the ghettos of Slums District. But being brutal and resourceful, Abel became a petty crime lord; extorting local merchants for a few coins. Abel was even able to secure ownership of the Sea Witch after Garen; her old owner agreed to sell for a few coppers. Garen then conveniently fell on a knife shortly thereafter. In essence, Abel is a cunning and oddly charismatic psychotic bully. Abel wants power but doesn’t really know what to do with it, and he is doomed to be little more than a local petty crime boss. But in Slums District, that makes him a force to be reckoned with. His gang, the Black Knots, have bribery and extortion rackets set u pal lover the slums district, and he pays off the watch to look the other way.
The Black Knot: The Black Knot isn’t the only gang in Slums District, but they are one of the most feared and well known in the Slums District. The gang is ruthlessly violent. Its members like to beat up anyone who is different, engage in violence for its own sake, extort protection money from local merchants and families, and generally profit off the poverty and poor luck of other locals. The members of the Black Knot are all human. Many are former longshoremen, fishery workers, or sailors unable to find work—a fact they blame on nonhumans taking their jobs, rather than their own lack of initiative or intelligence, or on their preference for sitting around getting drunk every day instead of going out and looking for work. With the exception of Abel and a few of his lieutenants, none possess great intelligence, courage, or combat skills—a deficiency they make up for with loyalty, stubbornness, and a willingness to drink themselves into a fighting fury to beat up the weak. The Black Knot takes its name from the weapon they all use—a hangman’s noose, blackened with tar and pitch. The noose (or rope-hammer) is an effective weapon; it hits hard but can be rolled up and hidden easily, and it’s cheap to make or replace. Particularly vicious gang members sometimes push nails or fishhooks through the noose for extra effect. The Sea Witch is the center of operations for the Blackened Knot, and most of its members are found here every night drinking and whoring their lives away, itching for a brawl.
S7. The Old Hag: (BROTHEL) is a tavern, strip club and whorehouse. It takes its name from the old hag who seemingly always sits outside, staring at anyone who enters or leaves the building. By the standards of Slums District, it is an unusually well run and carefully maintained establishment - indeed, many locals swear that not only is the beer not watered down, but most of the strippers do not have visible scars or diseases.
History
The Old Hag has been around for as long as anyone can remember. That is unusual for Slums District, as it doesn't usually take long for some sort of misfortune (accidental or not) to befall a tavern. The woman who gives it its name has also been a fixture of the area for years, though few people are much interested in learning more about her.
Description
The Old Hag sits in a building created by knocking the dividing walls out of a tenement row. This gives it a large, open ground floor, with the bar and stages sharing the same space. A few private rooms are available at one end behind the stages, and the second floor rooms from the original tenement houses serve as rooms for guests interested in accommodation.
Prominent NPCs
Taragon: (male human) A bald, powerfully built man noted for his fondness for flashy jewelry, Tarragon runs the Old Hag. He took it over some years ago, after the previous owner abruptly fled the city in mysterious circumstances. Since then, he has focused on making it the best inn in Slums District, despite the widespread jokes about how that was like being the prettiest half-orc. He has made great progress, and the inn is usually full of people enjoying the attractions and buying his beer.
Despite the relative classiness of his establishment, Tarragon does not seem obliged to live by the same standards, and is well known for taking advantage of his employees. He points out that this serves as an effective method of quality control, and therefore that he will have only the best performers to show his customers.
Mongo: (male human) Mongo is tall and stooped, missing his left leg below the knee. He leans upon a wooden crutch, and sometimes wobbles heavily. His face is pockmarked and weather-beaten, and he always smells of monkeys. When outside in the streets, he uses his trained baboon, Fang, to help him push a small cart containing his eight performing spider monkeys around town. He has trained them to use a wide variety of props, and they have become very skilled. People always stop to watch the Amazing Monkeys as they move around town, and Mungo does a thriving trade in parties and other special occasions. All in all, it is not a bad second chance for a man who used to be a noted and successful pirate until he lost his leg in combat. As he admits, he was too surly and angry at his fate to serve as a cook or similar non-combat role in his ship, and his crew abandoned him in Freeport. He scraped and scuffled until he learned the art of training monkeys from a senile old druid, and since then has been steadily rebuilding what he lost.
S8. The Bluefin: (INN) This simple structure is named for the house specialty, a stew made from bluefin fish obtained from the Fish Market. The Market is on the next block over, and so the inn is able to obtain a steady supply of ingredients. Unfortunately, these ingredients are very seldom fresh, and none of the people who work in the inn have any real idea of how to cook fish. Therefore, the stew is generally regarded as spectacularly bad. In fact, a favorite sport of the regulars is telling new customers to try the fish, and then observing their reactions.
The inn is also known for its basement gambling den. In contrast to the reliably poor food, the gambling is well regarded. The Stew is known around Slums District for providing about the fairest games available, a fact the establishment's staff exploit by blacklisting patrons who do not buy enough food or drink to go along with their gaming.
History
The inn has only been around for a year or so. Previously, the building served as a whorehouse, which was obliged to close down after its boss angered one local gang boss too many. Its current owner, Igor, took over the building with money saved during his years as a member of the local Watch. Like many watchmen, he was always willing to look the other way in exchange for some additional coin, and years of such side benefits finally added up to enough to allow a career change. As he is fond of saying, his connections to the Watch allow him to run his business without having to affiliate with any local gang.
Description
The Bluefin is a broken-down old building. It was once a fine dockside office, as its outside walls are built of stone (unusual in this poor district). However, none of the many individuals who have owned the building since then have spent much time or effort on maintenance, and the structure clearly shows this. At some point soon, Igor will have to spend a solid handful of coins on roof repair. The building and the street around it are continuously surrounded by the smell of decaying fish, as the remains of the regular orders from the Market molder in the side storerooms. Igor has repainted the front of the inn, and plans to continue this effort through the inside as well. However, none of this does much to remove the faint but ever-present odor that permeates everything.
Prominent NPCs
Igor: (male human) A youngish, slightly built man with a fondness for bright and colorful clothes, Igor owns and runs the inn. He is aware of the poor quality of its food, and dreams of saving enough money to be able to afford a skilled chef. However, that would also require him to buy better ingredients, something he is less willing to do.
In the interim, he enjoys working a job with a much lower likelihood of fatal injury than his previous one. In addition, he is sure to provide discounted beer to some of his old friends still in the service. This ensures a greater Watch presence around his inn than is normal for Slums District, which further contributes to its reputation as a safe place to gamble.
S9. Cat O’Nine Tails: (TAVERN)The most popular and the roughest tavern in Slums District. Pirates visiting the city tend to end up here, and fights between rival crews are a frequent event. In addition, the inn sits on the border of Blackened Knot territory, and consequently disputes between them and their various rivals often happen in or around the Place.
History
The Cat started life as a regular dive, little different from all the others that can be found in dark corners of Slums District. Over time, it has acquired its current reputation; many people discuss it in a way that makes it sound almost as violent as the Arena in the Harbor District. Earlier proprietors made a point of catering to pirates, as they felt that would give them a reputation that would help attract other customers. Things did not quite work out as planned…
Description
The building may once have been, at least by local standards, a legitimate structure. However, after years of bar fights and worse, it is not in good shape. The furniture consists of crates, boxes and other easily replaceable flotsam, and the simple main barroom has no decorative fixtures of any kind any more.
While there are no wall-hangings or pictures, the walls and ceilings are covered in the emblems of the various pirate crews that have passed through here. Many of the emblems have been defaced in insulting ways, while others trumpet the successes of the men who painted them.
Prominent NPCs
Kagrisos: (male human) A thick-set, roughly dressed man who appears to have considerable orc blood, Kagrisos runs the Place. He doesn't appear to own it, and no-one really cares enough about that to ask him for further details. Still, he appears to be in charge most of the time, and so most customers assume that he is the manager.
In the small office in the back of the inn (equipped with the thickest door available), he keeps a collection of items donated by the more famous (at least in their own minds) of his patrons.
S10. The Barnacle: (TAVERN) The Barnacle is renowned (if that is the right word) as the worst tavern in the city. It offers poor food, watered down beer, and women unable to secure employment anywhere else. Its prices are correspondingly low, however, and so it still manages to attract a fair few customers. The fact that it sits right next to Bloodsalt means that those customers include a significant number of hobgoblins and Tasloi, which perhaps explains how the service can get away with being so spectacularly inept and uncaring.
History
The Barnacle was once a better place. Years ago, it was known as a good place to get a bed for the night, and perhaps someone to share it with as well. However, a combination of poor ownership and the influx of assorted humanoids from Bloodsalt drove away its former customers, and therefore it has been reduced to its current circumstances.
Description
The building has definitely seen better days. In fact, even a casual observer can tell that it seems that even a modest shock might be enough to collapse it completely. Bits that have fallen off the upper walls and roof still lie in the streets around the building, and management can be persuaded to give a discount on the already-low room prices if a guest is rained on while in bed during the course of a stay.
Prominent NPCs
Kevris: (male human) A gruff, silent man with a disturbingly misshapen head, Kevris is the barman for the Barnacle. From his appearance, most assume he has some orc in his ancestry, and he has never confirmed or refuted that suggestion. He seldom has anything of interest to say, and never expresses the slightest concern for the complaints made by guests about conditions or food in the inn.
S11. The Razor's Edge: Most widely known as a good place to get knives, axes and swords sharpened or repaired. While the store started in that line of work, it also sells an increasingly wide range of other weapons and metal tools. The Edge stocks a wide variety of implements of mayhem, from boot knives right up to the odd pole-arm. The store also stocks a limited quantity of exotic weapons from distant ports, kept safely under lock and key in a special back room. The cost of these special weapons is appropriately high, but the rest of the store's merchandise is fairly priced-if only of average (at best) quality. Fleagle sells to anyone who has cash, but at least publicly stays away from direct connections to the copious criminal element of the city. Most of the stock in the Razor's Edge is either imported from overseas or made by the lower-end craftsmen of Freeport. Those looking for higher quality killing implements had best take their business to the artisans of the Eastern District.
History
The Razor's Edge has been around for a while. Artemis bought out the founder recently, using money earned abroad as a mercenary soldier, and branched out into selling blades as well as repairing them. He has earned a steady business since then, as there is always a ready market for serviceable weapons and tools in a city as rough as Freeport.
Description
The Razor's Edge occupies an unremarkable building. Because it sits on one of the city's main thoroughfares, it receives a little more attention from the city authorities than most buildings in Slums District. Therefore, it is in somewhat better shape than the average structure in the district, and Artemis looks after it lovingly. A large sign showing a bucket filled with several different blades hangs over the door, a gift from a regular customer. Artemis keeps a small apartment above the shop, in which he lives alone.
Prominent NPCs
Artemis: (male human) Artemis himself is a well known figure in Slums District, a strong but wiry older man with salt and pepper hair, and huge beak of a nose and a lazy eye with a tendency to drift distractedly while customers speak with him. His lazy eye leads many to underestimate the man, but Artemis' good eye is a dead shot, whether with bow or crossbow. It is on wonder, This weaponsmith shop is left totally unmolested. Artemis spent many years in the Kreskan Archers, spending half his life on various military campaigns on both Corwyn and Azoria. He saved his money and retired to Freeport.
S12. Otto’s Blades & Baldrics: Any pirate, soldier, adventurer, thug or thief who’s plied her trade for a while knows the value of weaponry and armor. Some put up with whatever tools they can find (or steal), but others have more refined (or desperate) tastes and look for unusual, finely crafted, or even magical weapons and protection. Finding high-quality arms and armor can be a difficult and expensive proposition, but Otto’s Blades & Baldrics, a store located in one of the roughest sections of Slums District, is a beacon to weapon collectors and professional killers alike.
History
Otto has done it all—he’s been a freebooter, a mercenary, an adventurer, an explorer, a privateer, and a hero. But those were his wild years, and when middle age came calling, Otto knew he had to settle down. Still, a life of excitement is hard to turn away from, so he came to Freeport about ten years ago and set up shop in Slums District—because while he could have established his store anywhere in the city, he wanted to stay close to the action. And after a decade of selling weapons and armor—the things he knows best in this world—to priests and pirates alike, Otto maintains he wouldn’t live anywhere else. Otto’s Blades & Baldrics provides a wide array of weapons, armor, shields, tools, and other life-saving devices. The primary focus is on weaponry, from the traditional (cutlasses, axes, and crossbows) to the unusual (muskets, whips, and exotic weapons from obscure countries on the Continent), along with ammunition, cleaning equipment, and other accessories. While Otto may be able to find any kind of weapon given time, it’s easier (and cheaper) to lay your hands on something simple like a sword or longbow. The store isn’t as well stocked with armor, but shoppers can usually lay their hands on items like leather, light chainmail, or wooden shields (and most pirates don’t want anything heavier). Hard-to-find and expensive items such as magic swords, elven chainmail, and amulets of protection blessed by the gods depend on whether Otto likes you. Such items are not just rare but dangerous, and he doesn’t traffic in them lightly or casually display them. If Otto does have such an item in stock, buyers need to prove they’re legitimate and make an appointment in advance to view the item—and haggling isn’t on the agenda. The store receives new stock on a semi-regular basis. Otto does some second-hand trading but won’t buy items if they’re damaged or poorly maintained (if they’re stolen, he makes up his mind on a case- by-case basis). His contacts on the Continent send him new stock every month or so, primarily common weapons. He can request special or rare items from them, but the turnaround time tends to be weeks or months. The store’s other main source of stock is the Freeport Auction House; Otto always attends the monthly auctions, bidding on both mundane and exotic weapons, armor, and magical items.
Description
Otto’s Blades and Baldrics is one of the few brick-and-stone buildings in Slums District, and a marked contrast to the decaying wooden tenements around it. The two-story building is surrounded by wide alleyways on all sides—too wide for a thief to easily cross without being seen. The single door is metal and securely locked, while the windows on both levels are small and protected with iron bars. The shop is a single, thirty-foot-square room; in one corner is a small counter where Otto sits most of the time. Weapons and armor hang from the ceiling and are arranged according to size. Otto can use a stepladder to allow a closer look at the items or lower them using a series of pulleys and chains set into the ceiling. Sundry tools and equipment are kept behind the counter in drawers or on the back wall. Otto lives in an apartment above the shop, which is positively opulent by Slums District standards; this is also where he keeps the most valuable items under lock and key. His reputation is such that even the greenest local thieves give his place a wide berth.
Prominent NPCs
Otto: (male human) A grizzled, middle-aged man, Otto may still be one of the deadliest swordsmen in Freeport. He doesn’t excel at customer service—he speaks in short sentences, and anyone entering the shop will usually be greeted with an abrupt “What are you looking for?” before they’ve stepped beyond the threshold. However, it only takes a little encouragement to get Otto to recount stories about his adventures; he knows he’s too old to continue that life. He misses his wandering days and finds the settled life more boring than he would like. Frankly, he looks forward to the occasional break-in attempt at the store (and the resulting fracas), and he would almost welcome a little excitement like the Succession Riots again.false they may be.
S13. Plunder: This is a pawnshop, perhaps the best known in the city. Because it is located near the Eastern District, its inventory includes many items given quietly by those wealthier than might be expected. This also means that the store attracts a better class of customer than the average pawnbroker's, despite the owner's penchant for eccentricity.
The store is known around the city as an excellent source of all manner of strange and unusual goods, but, in a departure from standard pawnbroker practice, it features a large collection of books, scrolls and manuscripts. Korben is always willing to examine books brought into his store, and often buys them. However, he is noted for his strange taste in such works; the items he buys are often not those that other experts might consider the most valuable in a given selection.
History
Plunder has been around for several years, though it only moved into its current building recently. Previously, the store was located deeper into Slums District, and Moynath was very happy to move it closer to some wealthier clients. Before setting up his store, Moynath had been a navigator on several different ships. He settled in Freeport at a relatively young age for a sailor to retire, explaining that he had simply had enough of the difficulties involved in finding a competent and honest captain to serve under.
Description
The building the store currently occupies was originally built as a tenement. However, it seems to have been somewhat classier than the average building of that type, as it features stone walls and a professionally built roof. It had fallen into some disrepair, which allowed Moynath to afford it. After he acquired it, Moynath allowed some craftsmen to pay off debts to him by working on his new store, and consequently it is now in better shape than pretty much every other structure around it.
Prominent NPCs
Moynath: (male human) A well-dressed man of indeterminate age, Moynath runs the store without the benefit of any staff. Despite the lack of help, he never seems rushed, and has an impressive knowledge of his current inventory. He will approach anyone who enters Plunder, asking them if they have any old books or similar literary works he can purchase. He is especially interested in works of poetry, especially well-produced ones with high quality illustrations.
S14. Jeffer's Goods: The largest general store in Slums District. It sells more or less everything the people of the district need, and has also be come a popular meeting place. However, it has also developed a reputation for erratic quality, as many of the items it sells are used, or otherwise rejected by denizens of wealthier areas. Despite that, the convenience of shopping in one store keeps people coming back. Jeffer would like to expand his customer base to include more people from the Eastern District, but this remains a pipe-dream. In the meantime, the store continues to (at least by local standards) thrive. Indeed, Captain's Council member Johnny Lydon used it as a center for his efforts to rally public support behind his candidacy.
History
Jeffer has been patiently building up his business for a while now. The store has steadily grown over the last few years, exploiting the fires that burned down a couple of its closest competitors during the chaos that followed the fall of Sea Lord Drac.
Description
The store occupies a building that once served as a prison, before being replaced by the Hulks. Because of that, it is better built than most in Slums District. However, it also looks distinctly intimidating in a way that a storekeeper would not normally consider desirable. Jeffer and his employees have attempted to combat this by painting the front of the building, but that has not really succeeded. Rumors around the district claim that the original prison had a set of dungeons and storerooms located underground, used to keep equipment and prisoners the Council wished to see forgotten. The store denies this, but people still try to break in to explore the basement space and see if they can find secret corridors hidden behind Jeffer's crates.
Prominent NPCs
Jeffer: (male human) The owner of the store, Jeffer is a famously voluble person. He greets anyone who enters the store, and will talk to them about whatever is on his mind. He pays no attention to the possibility that his new friend may just want to buy something and leave, and customers frequently find that the only way they can escape is when someone else comes in. He is a short, grossly overweight man, visibly getting on in years. He dresses in flamboyant colors, and would like to acquire some of the clothes worn by nobles. His current outfits tend to be made by local seamstresses in exchange for discounts in the store, and Slums District is not known for its skill at making elaborate clothing.
S15. Desire: (BROTHEL) is a seriously cheap brothel, located right on the edge of Bloodsalt. Because nobody really wants to live there, the area has become the worst part of Slums District. Desire recruits from the local population, and has a reputation in some parts of the city as the employer of "Blue Goddess for easy women." It does, however, have the lowest prices around…
History
There has been some sort of vice den in the building Desire occupies for as long as anyone can remember. Nalla took over from the last owner after he was killed in a brawl, officially over money but generally understood to be the result of his refusal to pay protection money to a local gangster. She started out working for the previous owner, and her toughness and grit made her into his unofficial second in command. After he was killed, she took over; perhaps because no-one else really wanted the position.
Description
The Grunt is an impressively dilapidated building. Nalla has no talent for decoration and little patience for cleaning or hygiene, and the deplorable state of the interior shows this clearly. There are rumors that some of her employees are planning to force her out in a bid to secure more amenable management, but nothing has happened yet.
Prominent NPCs
Nalla: (female human) A grizzed, powerfully built woman, Nalla owns and runs the Grunt. As she has no formal education, she believes the definition of responsibility in business is to spend as little money as possible. Consequently, she refuses to buy any of the necessary structural work needed to return the building, and takes every chance to cheat her staff.
She believes this approach is the correct way to run a business, and so defends herself against all the protests from her various staff and customers. In addition, she would like to save up enough money to be able to return to her native Rennsfar one day.
Prendag: (male half-orc) Despite being a large and ugly half-orc, Prendag radiates an aura of dark and powerful magnetism. He is a forceful individual, and people immediately notice him. He keeps his long greasy black hair braided down his back, and several gold rings adorn his ears and lower lip. He often wears black, with his robes more or less concealing his leather armor, but not his gigantic great-axe. He is unusually disciplined and reserved for a half-orc. He has a fierce reputation at Desire, and acts as bouncer and security for the establishment. Prendag is the reason Nalla stays in business, despite her many enemies. He is unflinchingly loyal to her.
S16. Horus' Leap: (BROTHEL) is a rundown whorehouse, often rumored to employ less than fully voluntary labor. It sits in an old warehouse, once used as a guardhouse, that is the southernmost large building in the city, and makes its living serving the most degenerate elements of the roughest quarter in Freeport.
History
Horus has run this operation for some years now. It started out in the docks, and developed a reputation as a seriously unpleasant place before it abruptly closed and reopened in Slums District. Since then, it has moved a couple of times, always with very little notice. Horus doesn't care about the disruption and inconvenience this may cause, as he feels confident his loyal customers will always find their way to him soon enough.
Description
Currently, the Leap occupies an old warehouse at the far southern end of the city. The building used to be a customs house, but was abandoned after land-based trade generally switched to using the eastern entrances through Drac's End. Horus makes no claim to own it, and nobody seems to know who actually does, a fact that Horus exploits to save money on rent. The building wouldn't justify much rent anyway, as it is steadily decomposing in the wet sea air.
Prominent NPCs
Horus: (male human) A sinister looking man always dressed in incongruously sharp imported clothes, Horus runs the brothel named after him. He came to the city from Kendar several years ago, and has been involved in some form of criminal activity ever since then. He makes few evident friends, but has also been careful not to get himself embroiled in any of the incessant local feuds. As a result of this, he has managed to keep an unusual degree of independence compared to most of his neighbors.
Raquel: (female human) A shy-seeming young woman with short, black hair, Raquel is perhaps the most prominent of Horus' employees. She has worked at the Leap for several months, and is one of the few women in the establishment regularly seen outside it. She is noted for her sad, depressed demeanor, and even some of the famously disinterested locals have speculated about rescuing her from her current predicament.
S17. Sword & Sheath: (BROTHEL) is an infamous brothel renowned for letting anything go within its walls. Unlike most of the local brothels, this joint doesn't try to hide its affiliation with the city's more organized underworld. Waverly has no problem letting people know he is closely associated with the Syndicate, and that Finn will protect him if the going gets rough.
History
The Store has only been around for a couple years. Waverly established it with the money he brought from his previous career, and he has made every possible attempt to maximize its infamous reputation.
Description
The Sword & Sheath sits in a relatively new building by Slums District standards. The simple, two-floor wooden building was erected after the previous one burned down in one of the fires that are a regular part of local life. The replacement structure was originally set up as a tenement building, but Waverly bought it before anyone could move in. Since the joint has been in business, the building's interior has steadily fallen apart through the lack of maintenance and the rough treatment from the clientele.
Prominent NPCs
Waverly: (male human) A skinny, gaudily dressed man, Waverly runs his brothel strictly as a business. He has no interest in the drama and violence of the vice trade, and is out strictly to make money. Unfortunately, he is not particularly smart. Therefore, he feels that the route to maximum profit is by hiring or leasing space to as many different women as possible, and allowing any level of violence or depravity to go on within his establishment. The concept that higher standards might allow him to increase his prices, and so compensate for the resultant higher expenses, is beyond him.
S18. The Devil's Den: (GAMBLING HALL) Once upon a time, the Devil's Den was the largest gambling den in Slums District, and probably in the city overall. Local legends still talk about some of the games that occurred here, and some of the epic brawls that followed them. The stories say that the Watch used to avoid the area completely on festival nights, as it simply did not have the manpower to control the chaos that erupted on more than one occasion. However, the place has fallen on hard times more recently. The criminals who ran it were a little too ready to tolerate (and organize) fixed games, and eventually the local people caught on to this. The Den is now a shadow of what it was, with local patrons generally heading elsewhere. It still attracts some sailors and other visitors drawn by its old reputation, but that is not enough to keep it going for ever.
History
The Den has been around for years in various forms, with a variety of different local criminals and gangsters fighting each other for the privilege of owning it. Recently, it has become much less valuable, and the fighting seems to have stopped. As with so many of those who have owned the place over the years, Nash thinks of himself as a prominent member of the Freeport underworld due simply to the fact that he is the master of the Den. That title meant a little once, but now no-one outside the district cares the least bit for him or the Den.
Description
Earlier in its life, the Den generated a lot of money. In addition to that, the prestige it conferred upon the gangsters who ran it motivated them to spend some of it on decorating the building to advertise their glory to the world. As a result of these influences, the Den is an impressive structure by Slums District standards, even it has begun to fall into disrepair.
The problem is that each successive owner had different (invariably bad) tastes. This has left the Den adorned, inside and out, with an awful mixture of different colors and styles of furniture. The locals never much cared about that, but the effect does deter some visitors from spending too long.
Prominent NPCs
Nash: (male human) A tall, arrogant young man, invariably dressed in the latest fashions from Kendar, Nash is the current owner of the Den. He does his best to act like a good host, and has been known to hire whatever performers are currently in town and within his price range to try and attract customers. However, he also doesn't really try to disguise the fact that he runs a local gang that controls this area of Slums District. While he isn't anywhere near the level of Finn or Abel, he is still quite happy to brag about his power and influence as a legendary gang leader to anyone who will listen to him.
