Page 9 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

1
RAVNICA S CALENDAR LIFE IN THE BIG CITY
Ravnica's year of 365 days is made up of twelve months,
each of which has the same number of days as its Ravnica is a vast city, covering the entirety of the world
counterpart in the Gregorian calendar. The year begins in many layers of construction, from deep sewers and
with 1 Seleszeni, which corresponds to March 1. catacombs to sky-raking spires. No single map can en-
compass the tremendous scope of its sprawl, and its bor-
Month Name ders (if it has any) are unknown. except possibly to those
1 Seleszeni (March) who live near the edges.
2 Dhazo (April) The story of Ravnica focuses on its core. Sometimes
3 Prahz (May) called the city proper. this core is divided into ten dis-
4 Mokosh (June) tricts, each of which is a huge urban environment in its
5 Paujal (July) own right. The districts are named in simple numerical
order from the First to the Tenth. No correlation exists
6 Cizarm (August)
between the ten guilds and the ten districts; all ten
7 Tevnember (September)
guilds are active in all ten districts. The Tenth District,
8 Golgar (October)
in particular, is a hotbed of activity where all the guilds
9 Quaegar (November) maintain their primary headquarters. It is the focus of
10 Xivaskir (December) chapter 3.
11 Griev (January) A huge avenue called the Transguild Promenade runs
12 Zuun (February) through all ten districts, making it the most notable
landmark for navigation through the city's heart. Lined
The annual celebration of the Guildpact begins on 28 Zuun with markets, small parks, and colonnades, the Prom-
and extends overnight into 1 Seleszeni. enade is a commercial thoroughfare used to transport
loads of cargo. On celebration days, it becomes the city's
the smallest scraps of influence that could tilt the bal- most popular parade route. Even when guild conflicts
ance of power in their favor. run hot, Ravnicans respect the sanctity of the Prome-
These conflicts erupt in a variety of forms. Sometimes nade as neutral ground.
guilds clash violently in the streets: Boros forces try to Beyond the core are an uncounted number of other
quell Gruul riots, Azorius arresters raid a Rakdos mur- districts, which originated as outlying cities that gradu-
der show, or Selesnya forces come together to repel a ally melded into the expanding metropolis. Well-known
Golgari incursion. More often, sinister plots unfold in se- districts outside the core include the Smelting District,
cret, through infiltration, sabotage. theft, and deception. I rbitov (the mausoleum district), and ]ezeru (the lake
Schemes are hidden beneath layers of other schemes, district).
making the intention behind them nearly impossible to Districts, whether in the city proper or beyond it, are
discover. The guildmasters are often the source of these the fundamental configurations that define Ravnica.
plots, but sometimes subordinates attack other guilds to They are informally divided into various quarters, neigh-
gain more influence within their own. In the absence of borhoods, and the like. Some of these areas extend
the Guildpact, some people believe that it's only a matter across district boundaries. Deadbridge, for example,
of time until these schemes and skirmishes escalate existed as a well-defined neighborhood before Ravnica
into all-out war on a scale that Ravnica hasn't known for City was formally divided into ten districts, and that di-
ten millennia. vision was made without consideration of Deadbridge's
With the precarious peace always hanging in the informally acknowledged boundaries. Part of Dead-
balance, opportunities abound for adventurers to serve bridge, known as Deadbridge Chasm, occupies much
their guilds or advance their own agendas. Whether of the Tenth District's Precinct Six, but it extends out
delving into the dungeons of the undercity, pursuing into the neighboring area. Similar neighborhoods, both
assassins through the bustling streets, negotiating ac- within and outside the city proper, include the Steam-
cords among the rich and powerful, or sniffing out cor- bath Quarter. the Wrights' Quarter, and Mahovna, the
ruption in the halls of law, the characters in a Ravnica Haven of Moss.
campaign have a world of adventure to explore.