Page 91 - Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting

tal’dorei campaign guide

crime wide disparity of wealth from home to home here has seen
crime rise recently, and the city watch seems reluctant to
Hundreds of tunnels run beneath Emon, the forgotten
find a constructive solution. Residents who know the lay
remnants of paved-over neighborhoods and secret pas-
of the land have an easier time at night and can help visi-
sageways made by thieves’ guilds during the reign of
tors avoid the most dangerous streets.
Drassig. These tunnels are now home to the Clasp’s secret
headquarters, where all manner of thieves, killers, fences, the cloudtop diStrict
and spies are gathered underneath their banner. The Clasp
The Cloudtop District once stood as the height of luxury
and its leaders are detailed on pg. 34.
and throne of the social elite, containing the Palace of the
Some petty criminals look up to the Clasp, committing
Sovereign alongside the mansions of the various lords and
ambitious crimes in hopes of gaining the Spirelings’ atten-
ladies of the city. An elevated port to arcane levitating
tion. Though politicians and commoners alike are grateful
skyships called the Skyport platform—first port of its kind—
to the Clasp for their role in rebuilding their city, this
stands atop the Skyport tower. This symbol of advanced
unsavory “auditioning” has once again soured their reputa-
magical technology is buttressed against a 100-foot-high wall
tion among the city watch.
of shining white stone that encircles the district, a second line
geography and climate of siege defense for the political leaders of Emon.
When the Chroma Conclave attacked the city, the
Emon is not a tourist destination for its climate—the city dragons focused their ire on the Cloudtop, flying over
is more temperate and prone to rain showers than most— the protective walls and leveling many of the ostentatious
but those who call it home swear they wouldn’t trade their homesteads, as well as collapsing the palace itself. Thor-
rain for all the sun in Kymal. The city is blessed with cool dak took the ruins here as his den, his presence bringing
summers and warm winters, thanks to its proximity to volcanic change to the earth throughout the inner walls.
the cool Ozmit Sea. Though snow rarely falls on the city After Thordak’s defeat, the fires died down and grounds
itself, it relies on springtime snowmelt from the Cliffkeep of the district are being reclaimed. Reconstruction of the
Mountains to fill its reservoirs throughout the year. Emon palace is underway, and Council matters are currently
is, in almost all senses, a city fated by water; were there held within the Citrine Garrison, the hub of all large mil-
anyone powerful enough to starve its farms and reservoirs, itary planning and action within the city.
the city would be theirs.
the temple diStrict
abdar’S promenade
The Temple District rests in the northern area of Emon,
Abdar’s Promenade is the open marketplace district and a ward that fosters many great sanctuaries built to uphold
massive bazaar that dominates eastern Emon. Named for the worship of the city’s many dominant religions. Cathe-
the legendary spicemonger from Marquet who helped drals to the Lawbearer and the Platinum Dragon stand
fund the construction of Emon, the name of Abdar is at apex among smaller temples to the Dawnfather, the
synonymous with both generosity and business savvy. Stormlord, the Wildmother, and the Matron of Ravens.
Within the tents, carts, warehouses, and shops that Many poorer folk come here seeking shelter, while the
stretch for miles of intertwining roads, nearly everything pious offer their services and energy to upholding the
and anything you seek can be purchased, with the darker tenets of their chosen deity.
pursuits leading to Clasp-run rackets that work beyond Travelers and sailors come to leave tokens and gifts at
the reach of the law. The Promenade is ever a whirlwind shrines to bless their journeys, while merchants seek the
of commerce and excess, with a vigilant patrol by the city graces of the Changebringer before a risky endeavor. The
watch. Its most renowned establishments include the four- meek search for wisdom in the great halls of the Knowing
story Laughing Lamia Inn, the metalworker’s paradise Mistress as the artists and wistful folk give praise to the
called the Anvilgate, and the emporium of mystical riches Archeart. Not all folk are drawn toward nor trusting of
known as Gilmore’s Glorious Goods. religion, however, and temples past have been exposed as
frauds, or worse, corrupting cells hidden in the service of
the central diStrict
darker gods.
The Central District is the largest residential district
the erudite Quarter
within Emon’s walls, housing most of the city’s merchant
class, including traveling traders, ship captains, and guild The Erudite Quarter acts as the center for higher educa-
apprentices. The district is a patchwork of thousands of tion and studious pursuits through not just the city, but
personal homes, tenements, and guildhalls of all shapes the realm of all Tal’Dorei. Beautiful towers stretch to the
and sizes, peppered with small taverns and inns on nearly sky across a cityscape of centuries-old halls of learning
every street corner. and student boarding houses. Here, the finest schools
These neighborhoods lay clustered together among and colleges draw the wealthy, the gifted, and the bril-
tightly set streets, occasionally broken up by park grasses liant. Academies of the arts socially duel with universities
or the Ozmit Waterways that snake through the region of intellectual pursuits, all while overshadowed by the
between the promenade and the port. Visitors to the Alabaster Lyceum, the largest and most accomplished
Central District are advised not to go out at night; the institute of arcane study on the continent.

90 chapter 2: gazetteer of tal’dorei