Capitoleum

Some of this includes notes in their purest form. Ignore things you can't understand. :)

Capitoleum is like its name suggests the capitol of much of the Realms. It is under the control of the Governors, the five most powerful noble Houses.

Overview of the city

About

Capitoleum is not the official capitol, but was simply the centrum of an empire that broke into pieces about 2-400 years ago. Instead it is the de facto centre for trading and much production and the city has a population at least 10 times larger than the second largest city in the Midrealms. All other major factions of the area have some sort of interest in Capitoleum.

Facts:

• Ruling house(s): Menthell, Haldean, Artipellin, Wyny & Edmyr (the Governors)
• Population: 200,000
• Militia: The Stripes (2,000)

Food comes from a zone donated by four of the Governors aroud the city called the Resplendent Fields, which are irrigated and also use spells to increase the yield, supporting about 80% of the city's need for food.

Areas of Capitoleum

Areas of the city

Most cities have distinct boroughs, districts or general areas that are named as part of a greater whole. In Capitoleum, there are both generalised areas as well as districts within these. The main features of the city are the forts, gates, areas in between and the prawl villages that have started to grow on the outside of the massive outer wall. So, without going in to too much detail, these are the Capitoleum areas.

Newtown

Newtown (1. on the map) was as the name implies a newly designed city that was placed on the slight hill in between two old fortresses that were placed on what is now Capitoleum. The streets were drawn to be easy to navigate, leaving almost ridiculous amount of room. A massive fortres was planted and a wall was erected around the city. They had expected it to grow, but the rate took everyone by surprise and the decision was later made to make the massive ring wall now encompassing the city.

It was only in relatively modern times all the plots of land inside the main walls were sold.

Newtown's population is almost exclusively either high to medium nobility and the very rich. It is littered with mansions and greenery along the roads and a very pleasent part of town to visit. People of all social classes are welcome, but people in rags will be checked for weapons and some turned away.

The dominant feature of Newtown is the Great Keep and the Grand Square in front of it, inside a set of large moats that also surround the castle itself. This area can hold thousands of people and is used for celebrations, coronations, royal weddings and the like. As such, any market activities on the square that normally are present are cleared when more important events are afoot. It is quite expensive to rent areas for stands on the Grand Square anyway, so there are often only relatively expensive items on display, and only a small amount of stands. Some even sport private guards.

The castle is designed primarily as a defensive structure, but later additions have been made to make it more visually appealing. The massive tower building at its south entrance holds a balcony where proclamations as well as weddings take place. The inside of the castle is also the location of the Court of Houses.

The second largest campus in Newtown is the Capitoleum University to the west, which hosts buildings from the Haldean University, the Capitoleum Library and some other formal types of study. The universities cooperate in certain endeavours with the Sickle, and a small chapter is located within the Newtown city walls, in the Small Octagon between the university campus and the Grand Square.

Not to be outdone by learning or magic, the Grand Cathedral erected by the Church of Rahn] is the tallest building in Capitoleum, located near the Old Fort. The fort itself was the original build that was finished at the end of the Warlock Wars and now houses the headquarters of the Stripes.

The Capitoleum Canals also go through Newtown (though Newtowns moat has sort of become a small canal system of its own). These were originally used during the construction of the town and walls and is still used for sending goods directly down to the harbour from Greater Northbrook.

In addition to the beautiful architecture and structures, Newtown also includes the two most massive grain silos known to man, located on the southern end of the internal canals if part of its content needs shifting.

Caldon

Caldon (2. on the map), the Western fort, has stood on its present location for hundreds of years, and several of those before Newtown was even considered. The name originates from an old noble family surname, who ruled the lands from this fortified town. During the Barbarian Wars, Caldon was restored and reinforced as was its twin Penvald and used as part of the centre of fortifications in this part of the Realms. It was later simply outgrown by Capitoleum and swallowed whole.

Though no original inhabitants' descendants still live in Caldon, the people who started living there during the Barbarian Wars do have descendants still living there, and they have a particular set of opinions about themselves, such as having been here a lot longer than everyone else. Which is true, in a sense.

Caldon now primarily serves as the western inner fortifications for the city in case of an attack as well as one of the headquarters for the Stripes It has underground dry storage for a large population to survive during a shorter siege but the main western cisterns are located nearby and war plans include bringing all or most of the contents of these into Caldon to feed the population for longer.

In addition, Caldon has both fresh water from the underground river as well as a smaller deep well in case of prolonged soiling of the river.

The Caldon Market is the westernmost market in Capitoleum and close to both West Gate and Fargate, making it an attractive place to do business, especially if the caravan is moving on after a single visit. Additional fees and tolls to trade in Caldon does discourage some, however.

Penvald

Penvald (3. on the map), the Eastern fort, shares much of its history with Caldon, even before the great wars. Penvald was another noble family which is now long gone, and it was at constant conflict with Caldon. The two neighbour towns frequently had minor skirmishes and schemes to undo the other but they fought side by side at the end to defend their very existence to the last man.

Penvald town is slightly larger than Caldon, and suffers a little bit from the same citizens, feeling they are a bit special for having lived here a couple of hundred years longer than most. Several noble families have elected to have their Capitoleum manors within either of the towns' walls.

The fortified town serves a similar role to that of Caldon and another large compound for the Stripes is located here.

The Penvald Market is the largest eastern market of Capitoleum. It connects almost directly to East Gate and has good connections further in to the city

Westfield

The name of Westfield (4. on the map) was originally just a nickname of the field west of the main encampment of what was to become Newtown. The original name of the fields that were located where now an endless cityscape is sprawling has been lost to history together with the Caldon family records. Though it is no longer a field, the citizens of Capitoleum uses phrases like "from the Field" to denote someone living here.

Besides including the Caldon town within itself, the other main feature of Westfield is the Octagon, the formidable fortification of the mage guild, the Sickle. It's not just the fort but the whole compound is the size of a decently sized town together with a ring wall, workshops and living quarters for civilians. Another feature of Westfield is the Westfield Park, the second largest park in Capitoleum, located on the border between the Wreath and Westfield on the West Road. The West Gate Park is located a couple of blocks from the West Gate itself and is located where part of the herbal garden of the Caldon is supposed to have been planted, outside its city walls.

In addition, Westfield includes the largest part of the Capitoleum harbour, both by distance and piers. To a great extent, however, the harbour is often seen as its own area and certainly the harbour districts have little in common with much else of the city in man ways. In either way, much of it has a great view of the Capital Bay.

Wreath

The Wreath (5. on the map) is considered by some to no be a real part of Capitoleum, that it is really part of Westfield and Bridge. It started as scruffy camps on the outside on the walls of Newtown, but as the population grew, so did the demand for property close to the main city and much of the shanty town houses were demolished in favour of larger living houses or houses for crafters and shops. The odd noble house also positioned themselves there as it was easier to navigate and trade outside the main walls. Today it is the second most expensive area to live in, after having somewhere to live inside the walls of Newtown.

Part of the charm of the Wreath is the way the moat has been adapted over time into an extended part of the canals. Properties near the moat has access to travel with ease around the walls of Newtown, though there are no locks on the moat, so the current isn't the easiest to navigate when going northwards. On the outer side of the Wreath is the Circle Road (which is actually not a circle or even a closed ring) and connected to some of the largest markets in Capitoleum, the Westfield Park and a stretch of harbour. The harbour district of the Wreath contains mainly finer deliveries.

The main point of interest is the Castle Harbour, however, which is connected both to the moat as well as the internal canals. Some ship building can take place here, though shipyards in Edmyr and Artipellin territories are more commonly used. Royal vessels are docked here and the harbour is also used constantly through the day for deliveries going north of Capitoleum or from the Northrealms.

Bridge

On the east site of Newtown is the Bridge (6. on the map). It's not called that because of any particular bridge but that it originally just was the bridging part between the construction of Newtown and the ongoing repairs of Penvald. Many areas between the two hubs have fairly ordered road systems as it took a long time to populate all of the land and that left plenty of time to administer it, properly. As part of this plan, the Capitoleum Park was planned near the middle. Originally a copse of old trees, it was organised further and has not changed much in the past few hundred years.

The canal entrance and exit from Riverrun in to the city is generally considered to be part of the Bridge, since North Gate is located right by it and relates strongly to Northbrook.

Redfold

Called Redfold (7. on the map) because it is a part of the city located on Redhill, the eastern hill protecting Capitoleum which consists of a noticeably reddish stone. In many ways it mirrors Whitefold and though the two areas are quite a distance apart by land, they associate quite strongly with each other (but with a healthy level of competition between their fishermen).

Redfold is almost entirely a harbour area with few districts and the predominant source of trade and production involves fish and products relating to the sea. It also has a reputation for smuggling wares as well, since it is placed in a manner where it can easily send items out through East Gate. However, due to the decent checks for contraband, this is not as common as it once was, and there are plenty of natural harbours along the Edmyr coast. The Edmyrs, in turn, are sometimes happy to turn a blind eye if the right type of monetary lubrication is applied. Nevertheless, Stripes in this area are also known to be happy to grease their hands with the right type of motivaton around the Redfold Trading Post (sometimes known as the Redfold Market).

People have built houses as far up the hill as is feasible (with one or two collapses in the past) and towards the wall that delimits the harbour patrol. That area is known as the Red Forts and mirrors the White Forts on the west side of the mouth. Particular care has been made to seal up the distance between the rock island at the harbour mouth, leaving one entrance and one exit. These are both hundreds of meter wide, but some sailors still complain. The gap that is left is further protected by an enormous iron chain, preventing landing parties in the case of a conflict.

Not visible from the city itself, but sailors can, if they are new to the waters, end up in the waste water exhaust that runs under the city and through submerged cavenr exits on the outside of the hill. The city uses natural caverns to distribute fresh water and to flush out waste water. Not the most favourable position to end up in when sailing.

Whitefold

Whitefold (8. on the map) is in many ways similar to Redfold but the area is a little bit bigger and there is more trade going on in the Fishmarket. The market is located on the original fishing centre of the area, but only a portion of trade there is now directly related to fish. A lot of imports that are due West inland stops here, exchanges hand and continues by oxen, donkeys or horses and wheels. As such, there are more expensive establishments here, but on the whole very similar to Redfold, and the two "little siblings" of the grand city does feel a strong connection between them, against other areas.

The White Forts are situated similarly to the Red Forts, but the main difference between the defensive efforts on the west side is that the actual Whitehill is a lot steeper, meaning that where the highest-up buildings end, there is still windy paths the guards must take to man the watchtowers at the top of the hills. A precarious sight for a new recruit.

Capitoleum Gates

The gates of Capitoleum (9-14. on the map) were built prior to the bulk of the Capitol Wall. A rudimentary fortification was in place before the wall and the gates created effective starts and stops for this fortification. The gates are not identical but since West Gate was built first it became the model for the other gates and improvements were made as the building progressed. Each gate also includes a small fortification with a permanent garrison that partly serves as housing for Stripes patrolling Capitoleum. West Gate, North Gate and Merchant's Gate also hold garrisons that work as the starting point for the long-haul patrols along the Coins.

West Gate

West Gate (9. on the map) was, like the other gates built before most of the rest of the Capitol Wall and became a model for all the gates, but many improvements were done on later gates that the designers realised were mistakes with West Gate. Some of the less successful design choices for the gate was later reinforced and it is currently the strongest gate of the six, though it still has a reputation to spontaneously fall apart actually is not justified.

West Gate also holds the garrison for Stripes patrolling the Coins towards the South and West and a large portion of the building is dedicated to this.

The West Gate is also one of the busiest gates of the city as much of the land trade comes through this gate. This is alleviated to some extent by alternative entrances of Fargate and Vengate in to town and that the Fishmarket near the gate is quite specialised. The Caldon Market is a popular destination, but merchants can also enter through Fargate to avoid congestion.

Fargate

West Gate (10. on the map) is most similar to West Gate of all the gates and also reinforced in modern times. In some regards it is considered a more attractive target for a breach in a siege as it has less defending wall surface. It is, however one of the more fortified gates.

Like West Gate, Fargate holds a small garrison of Capitoleum Militia that patrol the city.

Vengate

Vengate (11. on the map) was so named as a celebration to Ven, the Dreamer for keeping the spirits of the fighters up while dealing with the multitude of struggles that predated the building of Capitoleum. Since Ven is also the god of magic, its name is a point of contention for the Church if Rahn, but now it has been there for so long any initiative to rename the gate is seen as bad luck and resisted even against the worst of the superstitious. Renaming may also be pointless as it is the most ornate gate, on the outside is a large sculpture of the Sleeping God on top of the gate opening. Not that the Church isn't interested in chiseling this away as well...

The gate leads towards the small Menthell town of The Pride and holds the garrison for the Stripes patrolling the Western Resplendent Fields (usually just called the Western Fields). As one of the central market places is located right inside the gate, some merchants take the detour on the outside of the city to avoid unnecessary hustle and bustle on the streets of Capitoleum. A smaller amount of merchants also use the crossing at Greater Northbrook to enter through Vengate if they have business in the western part of Capitoleum.

Northbrook

Name is a bit of a joke, since you need equipment to pass the river

Rest of List

• Newtown (middle fort)
• Calond (west fort)
• Penvald (east fort)
• Westfield (west mid)
• Bridge (east mid)
• Whitefold (west lower)
• Redfold (east lower)
• Redhill (outer hill)
• Whitehill (outer hill)
• Westgate (west village (gate))
• Scruffle (west, top village)
• Farmgate (west, bot village)
• Fargate (west mid gate)
• Northpride (west, top vil)
• Venhouse (west, bot vil)
• Vengate (gate)
• Western Northbrook (north, top, west)
• Greater Northbrook (north, top)
• Northbrook (north, bot)
• Northgate (gate)
• Mercoise (north, east)
• Merchant's Gate
• Eastgate (gate (East vil))
• Western Tristad
• Southerns Tristad
• Eastern Tristad
• Sandwish
• Capital Bay
• Resplendent Fields

History

For the history of Capitoleum, which intertwines significantly with the history of the rest of the Realms, see History.

From my notes

Note that several details have already been retconned, including the dates, but this is a close approximation of Capitoleum's history.

The biggest city in the travelled world. There are myths about all-golden cities in the far south on the Dragon Continent and even about floating cities across the Endless Seas, but people tend to dismiss that sort of dreamery.

There has been people living on the spot of capitoleum for a long time. Before the great city was founded, the two latest settlements were Calond to the west and Penvald to the East. These two towns are largely intact in the remaining (and enhanced) fortifications with the same names.

A majority of the infrastructure and defensive designs were created by Helfram Housetames Uldin who conquered, by force or diplomacy, all the then current noble houses between the years 1382 and 1429, about 300-250 years ago. This originally only included the moat, beginnings of the sewage system, the original canals (with flash-locks) and a large number of independent fortifications.

Helfram managed to appease both the Church of Rahn as well as the Sickle in exchange for support. The lands enjoyed peace and prosperity for all of his reign and that of his son Harald.

Harald "The Builder" Uldin continued the work of his father and started building road structures for a truly enormous city. He also set up a governing council under more official capacities and a court for the noble houses both for politics and enjoyment.

His reign saw a big influx in a population not torn by many conflicts and also immigration from every corner of the world, mainly to Capitoleum.

The already existing and much respected Family Register, with a long history of gathering information about courtly busineesses was given further powers as it became the de facto organisation to solve hereditry and court attendance.

In a similar fashion, the near unknown budding Haldean family with the, to that date, largest library and academic interest were given the mandate to design and run the Capitoleum University.

Harald's reign lasted from 1429 to 1442, when he died of old age and his only son Lidgast was crowned King of the Midrealm Kingdom.

Lidgast "the Breaker" Uldin became the last member of the Uldin family. He spent no time keeping up his anscestors' work and spent more money than the total wealth of the Uldin family.

Though most of the business continued working, by 1453, the Uldin family was in debt by almost all banks and houses that lent money.

By 1455, a drought that even the Sickle could not affect created hunger in the city. Lidgast had by then sold even a lot of the food reserves to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and a peasant/citizen revolt stated.

The current Governor houses quickly acted and siezed Lidgast and his family, including cousins and a tribunal was held.

Pressured by the common people (and probably all to happy to do it anyway) the Governors decided to hang Lidgast and family.

Afterwards, the Governors took over all control of the economical/food crisis with their own money. This weakened them, however, and a slow, outdrawn political and military civil war started.

Useful notes

• DM guide helper
• 20 000 Swedish police officers
• Add something here about bad luck to rename a castle.
• Son taking over, finish much. Creating aqueduct, fresh water and waste-removal. Also the first generation of the canal.
• The Builder, The Engineer and The Ruiner.
• During early Engineer days, attempted invasion. Was stopped and lessons learned.
• During early Ruiner days was the great fire.
• Magic crops just grow faster. No difference otherwise.