The Heart of Mercantile Life
The City District is the thriving heart of Aranthaes, a hub of wealth, commerce, and culture where merchants, nobles, and commoners mingle in a constant tide of trade and entertainment. From its bustling bazaars to its glittering jewelry shops, this district is a place where fortunes are made, reputations built, and deals sealed with a handshake or a goblet of wine.
The wide avenues and carefully paved boulevards are filled with wagons, porters, and fine carriages, while side streets echo with the chatter of guild apprentices, hawkers, and artisans at work. Unlike the twisting chaos of the Wynds, the City District feels more ordered – though wealth and ambition breed their own kind of danger.
The Grand Bazaar
The Grand Bazaar dominates the district’s core, a broad boulevard lined with trading houses, imposing banks, and merchant emporiums. The air is thick with spices, perfumes, and fine wines as merchants from every corner of the realm hawk their wares. Moneylenders and dealmakers prowl the arcades, and coin changes hands faster here than anywhere else in Aranthaes.
The Textile District
To the east lies the Textile District, a maze of narrow streets filled with the clatter of looms and the hum of spinning wheels. Tall, elegant buildings host weavers, dyers, and tailors, their windows hung with rich silks, intricate tapestries, and exotic cloths from distant shores. It is a place of craft, fashion, and hidden guild rivalries.
The Jewelry Quarter
To the west sits the Jewelry Quarter, where goldsmiths, gem-cutters, and jewelers ply their trade. Shopfronts glitter with rings, tiaras, and necklaces that catch the sun and dazzle onlookers. The constant chiming of little bells greets wealthy patrons as they step inside, and rumors whisper that not all stones are mined honestly, nor all gold smelted clean.
The Theater District
South of the Grand Bazaar spreads the Theater District, dominated by the grand Aranthaes Opera House with its ornate facade and sweeping colonnades. Street performers, musicians, and playwrights draw crowds day and night, while nobles dine and drink in tree-lined boulevards nearby. The air is alive with music, debate, and the aromas of roasting meats and fine wines.
The Restaurant Quarter
To the north lies the Restaurant Quarter, a showcase of culinary genius where the best chefs in the land tempt patrons with sizzling meats, fragrant breads, and rich sauces. Cafes and eateries spill their laughter and conversation into the streets, and competition for status among chefs is as fierce as any duel fought with steel.
A Vibrant Heart
The City District flows seamlessly from one quarter to another, blending trade, art, luxury, and indulgence into a vibrant center that is the envy of every land. But while its surface shines with wealth and sophistication, ambition and rivalry lie just beneath – waiting for adventurers to find opportunity or peril.
Encounters – On the Streets
The streets of the City District are polished and lively, but wealth and ambition attract trouble as surely as gold draws thieves. Roll d10 for possible encounters…
- A group of apprentices rushes past carrying bolts of cloth, one tripping and spilling a bundle of fine silk at the adventurers’ feet.
Apprentices (1d4+1): AC 10, HP 6, improvised weapons (1d4). - A moneylender argues with a desperate debtor outside a bank, demanding repayment in full.
Moneylender: AC 11, HP 12, dagger (1d4); Debtor: AC 10, HP 8, fists (1d4). - A street performer draws a crowd with juggling and acrobatics, while an accomplice works the pockets of distracted onlookers.
Pickpocket: AC 12, HP 7, dagger (1d4). - A caravan of spice merchants blocks the street, their guards waving off impatient locals.
Guards (1d4+2): AC 13, HP 16, spears (1d6+1), chain shirts. - A noble’s gilded carriage is stuck in the crowd, and the steward loudly berates commoners for not making way.
Steward: AC 11, HP 9, dagger (1d4), livery. - A troupe of actors rehearses a bawdy play in the middle of the street, drawing cheers and boos in equal measure.
Actors (1d4+2): AC 11, HP 9, improvised weapons (1d4). - A jeweler staggers out of a shop crying theft, claiming a priceless gem has just been stolen.
Jeweler: AC 11, HP 10, dagger (1d4), fine clothes. - A patrol of city watchmen halts the adventurers, demanding to see their business in the district.
Guards (1d4+2): AC 13, HP 16, spears (1d6+1), chain shirts. - A brawl breaks out between textile weavers and dyers, each claiming the other sabotaged their trade.
Weavers (1d4): AC 11, HP 9, clubs (1d4); Dyers (1d4): AC 11, HP 9, knives (1d4). - A rain of flower petals drifts from a balcony above — followed by a chamber pot of less pleasant contents hurled by a rival neighbor.
Hazard: DC 12 Dexterity save to avoid, consequences determined by DM.