Kadish
From Stormravengaming
| Kadish | |
| Large City | |
| Government | Conventional |
| Alignment | |
| Population | 20,000 |
| Racial Mix | Mixed |
| Races | Human 79%, dwarf 9%, halfling 5%, gnome 3%, elf 2%, half-elf 1%, half-orc 1% |
| GP Limit | 40,000 gp |
| Total Assets | 40,000,000 gp |
| Power Centers | Royal court (LG) |
| Authority Figures | Queen Ayisha (NG female human Rgr 12), Robert the Prince-Consort (male human) |
| Important Figures | |
| | |
| Author | DrEris |
| Campaign(s) | Princes of the Universe Mark IV |
Kadish is the largest city in the Great Desert, situated near the desert's eastern coastline on the Alicorn Sea. It is the principal city of the Desert Kingdom and the most eminent since Rahmoud, father of the current queen Ayisha, established a royal court there. The Kadishites, and perhaps the rest of the Desert Kingdom, refer to the city by its nickname Jewel of the Desert (or simply the Jewel).
Contents |
Construction
Kadish is a walled, heavily fortified city built atop a meager hill set in the midst of a flat, barren plain. It commands a clear view of the surrounding desert for several miles on all sides, and there is nothing within a half mile of the city that can be taken for cover, neither from view nor from the siege engines mounted atop the walls. Three concentric rings of white stone walls protect the city, each successive ring taller than the one outside it. Tall, narrow gates are set into the north and south walls of the first and third rings, and matching gates are in the east and west walls of the middle ring.
The arrangement of buildings within Kadish suggests that the city was carefully planned before the first stone was laid; everything about the construction is orderly. The architecture is primarily functional and utilitarian, but consideration has also been given to aesthetics, for the structures are not unattractive. Most of them are built of the same white stone as the city's walls, easily quarried nearby from the stony desert. Many buildings are characterized by unusually wide doorways.
The city's builders spared no expense in fortifying it; they expected serious fights for control of the city, and they planned for the possibility that enemies would breach the outer walls. The streets of Kadish are wide, but they zig and zag at odd places. At each of these odd turnings stands a fortified battle house (see below). All of the major buildings are designed to serve as defensive strongholds from which to make a stand against invaders.
Kadish is prepared for siege, too, with grain silos, food stores, and cisterns of water. The city's population can expect to survive any siege for several years before running out of resources, while the enemy outside the walls will have nothing to eat or drink but the rocks that litter the plain.
Battle Houses
Kadish battle houses stand at strategic points throughout the city along its primary and secondary streets. A battle house is a building designed to withstand enemy assaults and serve as strong points for defenders of the city. Each battle house stands at the open end of a hairpin turn in the city streets. The building is constructed with wide gates and tall ceilings at the first floor such that if the gates on both sides of the building are opened, there is a clear path through the building's interior for defenders of the city to follow. Enemy forces, though, must deal with closed gates, narrow twisting streets, and withering arrow fire from the rooftops.
The interior of a battle house is designed for defense. Arrow loops on either side of both gates look out onto the streets around the structure, and these are partially walled around from the interior to provide the archers cover in case the building is breached by the enemy. Many battle houses, primarily those located on the largest streets of the city, have pit traps in the midst of the first floor. If the house must be abandoned, the trap can be opened and the battle house will still impede the enemy's progress through the city.
One of the first floor walls in each battle house hides a secret door, behind which are stairs ascending to the second floor. The second floor is little more than an attic with a low ceiling, but from here defenders have access to more arrow slits around the perimeter of the building as well as murder holes that look down on the room below. Enemies who breach the gates will find the interior still well defended from above. The stairs also continue from the second floor to the roof through a locked hatch.
Public Works
Kadish is well maintained. The streets are unmarred by refuse, thanks in part not only to regular maintenance but also to a sewer system and indoor plumbing. Citizens have free access to clean water at public wells and washbasins. Major thoroughfares are dotted with hooded lanterns enchanted with continual flame spells, so the streets remain brightly lit after nightfall.
Population and Demographics
Kadish contains about 20,000 people. The neighborhoods nearest the outer walls are home to the poorest of the city's residents, with increasing levels of wealth gravitating toward the city's center. The population is a mix of races, predominantly humans but with a few elves, gnomes and dwarves. Business and most other conversation takes place in Common, but other languages see occasional private or specialized use as well.
The people of Kadish generally get along well and enjoy a positive outlook. Merchants, professionals, performers, priests and arcane spellcasters mingle easily with the common folk.
Commerce
Sitting as it does in the midst of a desert, Kadish might not appear to command enough resources to sustain itself. But the desert is not empty to those who have eyes to see, and Kadish in fact commands a great deal of mineral wealth from mines and stone quarries in the surrounding region. The city was constructed as a stronghold from which to protect this wealth from invaders, and it soon became a haven for laborers, craftsmen and merchants. As the city's population grew, it drew merchants and products from a progressively wider area in search of not only base and precious metals and stone but also skilled craftsmen and their wares (usually items of metal, stone or ceramics), the rare produce and delicacies of the desert, and the arcane mysteries of the desert spellcasters.
Kadish depends on trade to sustain itself, for though there is enough water from ancient wells, Kadish cannot produce its own food supply. Trade has historically taken the form of caravans that trek across the Great Desert from the lands west of Kadish, but in recent years this trade has diminished. Kadish now looks more to the seafaring kingdoms across the Alicorn Sea for its vital sustenance.
The Bazaar
Just as the government buildings at the center of the city might be considered the brain of Kadish, the bustling bazaar between the second and third ring walls are its beating heart. Here the lifeblood of Kadish flows as merchants loudly hawk their wares and buyers eagerly spend their coin. If the bazaar of Kadish ever grows quiet before the sun has set, the rulers of the city will want to know why.
Nearly anything can be bought somewhere among the colorful tents, booths and stalls of the bazaar. This is where foreign traders come to offer merchandise from distant lands, and this is where Desert Kingdom traders come to try to export their goods. Naturally local business takes place here as well, as the bazaar has become the first place to go for whatever one might need.
The bazaar has also become the largest (though least ostentatious) entertainment district of Kadish. Interspersed among the merchants' stalls are stages, menageries, grills, cafés, bars, gambling dens, and less seemly attractions. Performers might also wander the alleys of the bazaar in hopes of finding the most generous crowds.
There is little order or organization to the bazaar, and any given merchant might be in a different location from day to day, so the best approach is simply to wander the alleys in search of any specific need. Stalls in the bazaar can be reserved free of charge by placing a request with the Master of the Bazaar through his apparatus of officials. But stalls need not be reserved and, if unreserved, can be claimed on a first come, first served basis.
Surrounding the sea of temporary structures that make up the bazaar are more permanent, more traditional buildings that have come to house a sort of extended shopping district. Not technically a part of the bazaar (or under the authority of the Master of the Bazaar), this commercial district nevertheless serves the same clientele, though at a less frenetic pace.
