Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing

Calendoris

Calendoris is a prosperous town of about 3,400 people, set in a circular clearing within a forest that has rotted beyond its four roads. Three built rings surround a central plaza: tree-homes and narrow lanes at the edge, bright shops and taverns along the Main Streets, and guarded civic buildings around a vast central tree. Beyond the farms, the town's year-round bloom ends abruptly. Its residents call the boundary a blessing and rarely ask what holds it there.

Settlements
Town

Calendoris

Every road ends at a gate, and every gate looks back toward the flowers.
Population
3,400
Rule
Lady Isolde Vance is a…
Wealth
Prosperous
Defence
Low

Overview

Calendoris is a prosperous town of about 3,400 people, set in a circular clearing within a forest that has rotted beyond its four roads. Three built rings surround a central plaza: tree-homes and narrow lanes at the edge, bright shops and taverns along the Main Streets, and guarded civic buildings around a vast central tree. Beyond the farms, the town's year-round bloom ends abruptly. Its residents call the boundary a blessing and rarely ask what holds it there.

Atmosphere

Calendoris feels like a festival that has lasted so long nobody remembers its first day. Flower sellers work beneath lanterns even at noon, children run between the roots of the central tree, and the guard patrols with easy smiles. Beyond the four roads, the forest is dead and foul magic clings to the soil. Residents call that boundary the town's good fortune, though few ever look at it for long.

Culture

EthosPeople prize hospitality, visible cheer, and useful work. A neighbor who is sad is offered food before questions, but persistent doubt about the town's safety is treated as poor manners. The three rings share public festivals, yet residents know their place in the town's order. Most believe their good fortune is earned through care, not granted by anyone.
Faiths
  • The Hearth-Mother, honored for harvest and shelter
  • The Green Witness, a local tradition of reverence for living trees
Peoples

Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves

PastimesPublic music and flower-work are everyday pleasures, not special occasions. The arena hosts wrestling, archery, and contests in which gardeners display trained vines. Children learn a round dance said to have been composed when the first trees took root. The church's bell choir is popular, though its most requested hymn has a verse the clergy quietly omit.

Economy

WealthProsperous, with wealth concentrated among merchant houses and landholding families. Most residents eat well, but Edge Section households have less access to council contracts and civic favors.
Work

Farming and horticulture, Flower cultivation, Food preservation, Hospitality and trade

Exports

Fresh produce, Cut flowers and seeds, Preserves, Medicinal herbs

Imports
  • Iron tools and fittings
  • Salt
  • Cloth and leather
  • Books and specialist magical materials
ScarceThe town has abundant food, but dependable iron, salt, and outside news are scarce. Traders must use the four guarded roads through dead country, so any interruption quickly raises the cost of tools and preserved goods. The council also controls access to a few rare materials used to maintain its hidden protective magic.

Geography

RegionA broad forest clearing surrounded by rotten woodland and foul-magic-tainted ground.
ClimateMild and flower-rich through every season inside the town's protected boundary. Cold rain and blighted winds gather just beyond the roads, where dead leaves persist even in spring.
TerrainCalendoris occupies gently raised ground beside a spring-fed stream. Farmland forms a fertile outer belt, while roads radiate through the four gates. Within that belt, homes and public buildings follow three circular rings around a massive central tree. The forest beyond is tangled, blackened, and pocked with old stone ruins.

Ways in and out

The north road reaches a ruined watch post before vanishing into dead forest.
The east road leads toward scattered farmsteads and a collapsed stone causeway.
The south road is the main trade route, patrolled to the boundary of the aegis.
The west road passes a spring and several unexplored ruins.

Places to see

  • The Great TreeThe central tree rises above the plaza, its limbs flowering in every season. Its roots buckle the paving stones, and several are enclosed behind council-owned iron grilles.
  • The RinggroundThe arena hosts contests and vanguard displays. Its lower passage has been bricked shut, though sounds sometimes carry from below during quiet evenings.
  • West RuinA collapsed stone structure lies beyond the western farms. Its exposed doorway bears a carved mark that matches one found on the central tree's oldest roots.

Power

3 factions

Government

FormA council-led town governed by elected and appointed members, with Lady Isolde Vance as its presiding leader.
LeaderLady Isolde Vance is a decisive and capable leader who personally oversees the town's defenses. Her flaw is that she treats disclosure as a threat to be managed rather than a duty to her people. She fears that knowledge of the aegis will draw people toward the ruins, and she wants to keep the town safe even if that means deciding what its citizens are allowed to know.

Laws

Weapons must be declared at the gates; the guard may hold dangerous arms during festivals.
Cutting a living tree without a council permit is a serious offense.
Unauthorized entry into sealed ruins or the central tree's root chambers is forbidden.
Gate tolls fund the guard, roads, and public granaries.

Trouble

  • A failing protective boundary and the cost of keeping it secretThe aegis has begun to falter at the western boundary. Lady Isolde Vance has concealed the failed ward readings, while Bloomguard captain Torren asks for permission to scout beyond the gate. If the council delays, a breach may come before the town is ready. If it acts openly, the public will ask what the ward protects them from and who pays its hidden cost.
    Involves

    Lady Isolde Vance, Torren

  • A toll dispute threatens to reveal what the money really fundsEdge Section residents say the new gate tolls punish families who already lack council contracts. Sella Brin is organizing a refusal, while council clerk Merrit Vale has found evidence that the tolls are also being diverted to maintain the aegis. Isolde fears unrest will expose the secret; Sella fears her people will be left outside the town's protection.
    Involves

    Sella Brin, Merrit Vale, Lady Isolde Vance

Factions

  • The Veiled CouncilCivic leadership and military command
    The council's inner circle includes senior civic officers and the Bloomguard command. It maintains the aegis in secrecy and presents the town's safety as a natural blessing. Its members genuinely fear panic and invasion, but their secrecy gives them power over who can investigate the ruins or question the town's history.
    GoalsKeep the aegis secret and preserve the council's control of the central tree, directly opposing the Rootwardens' demand for open investigation.
    Allies

    Lady Isolde Vance

    Rivals

    The Rootwardens, The Edgehands

  • The RootwardensReligious and scholarly fellowship
    The Rootwardens are gardeners, clergy, and a handful of scholars who believe the town's bloom is not an ordinary miracle. They tend the central tree and record changes in its roots. Their public work is welcomed, but their insistence on studying the dead ground has made them suspect to council loyalists.
    GoalsOpen the sealed ruins and disclose what sustains the town, directly opposing the Veiled Council's secrecy.
    Allies

    Merrit Vale

    Rivals

    The Veiled Council

  • The EdgehandsCriminal and mutual-aid network
    The Edgehands are a loose network of tree-dwellers, smugglers, and thieves who share warnings and move goods around the official tolls. They provide genuine aid to residents neglected by the council, but their leaders also profit from illicit routes. Their influence is strongest in the living homes at the town's edge.
    GoalsSecure legal representation and control of the outer roads, directly opposing the Veiled Council's gate monopoly.
    Allies

    Sella Brin

    Rivals

    The Veiled Council

Defences

ReadinessThe ordinary guard drills at the gates and keeps a rotating watch. The elite vanguard can muster quickly, but its commanders have little experience fighting beyond the aegis. Lady Isolde Vance keeps their deployment orders close. Should the protective magic fail, the town has stores and barriers, but no tested plan for a sustained siege.
Walls and works
  • Four guarded gates sit at the ends of the entry roads, with reinforced timber doors and watch platforms.
  • The outer farms have alarm bells and clear lanes leading back toward the Edge Section.
  • The central plaza's stone wall and gatehouses protect the council, schools, and central tree.
  • A hidden magical aegis surrounds the fertile rings, though the public believes the guard alone keeps the town safe.
ForceThe Four-Road Guard and the Bloomguard
SizeApproximately 90 guards and 24 vanguard members
About the forceThe Four-Road Guard handles patrols, gate checks, and ordinary law enforcement. The Bloomguard is a small elite vanguard trained to respond to incursions and protect the council. Both answer to Lady Isolde Vance, though the vanguard's captain increasingly argues that the dead forest must be scouted rather than ignored.

Law and order

CrimeLow in the Main Streets and plaza, moderate in the Edge Section, where theft and smuggling are common. Violent crime is unusual but not unknown.
Who keeps the lawThe Four-Road Guard patrols the rings, checks the gates, and answers to the council. Officers are generally courteous, though they defer to wealthy merchants and rarely pursue Edgehands without strong evidence. The Bloomguard handles military threats and has no ordinary policing authority.
PunishmentMinor theft is usually repaid with restitution and public work. Repeat smuggling brings fines, confiscation, or temporary gate restriction. Assault can mean confinement in the plaza watchhouse. Tree-cutting and trespass into sealed ruins carry severe sentences, partly because the council fears what those places contain.

People and places

13 entries
  • Council leaderLady Isolde Vance

    Human Female

    A human leader who wears a plain silver ring and rubs its edge whenever a petition mentions the western road.

  • Bloomguard captainTorren

    Human Male

    A human officer with a stiff left shoulder and a habit of testing the edge of every gate latch.

  • Edge Section organizerSella Brin

    Elf Female

    An elf with a shaved temple and a bright red cord around one wrist, easy to spot among the tree-homes.

  • Grower and seed keeperElen

    Human Female

    A human flower-grower with soil-dark nails who knots a stem around one finger while thinking.

  • Former gate guardGarrick

    Half-orc Male

    A half-orc with a missing fingertip who whistles through his teeth when he is nervous.

  • Garden and seed shopSeedfold

    Kept by Mabli

    A narrow shop of living wood, packed with seeds, dried petals, and jars of preserved pollen. Its proprietor will not sell certain seeds to anyone planning to plant beyond the farms, and she keeps a ledger of every unusual bloom brought to her.

  • SmithyThe Bent Bellows

    Kept by Cefn

    A busy smithy near the inner Main Streets, known for sturdy farm tools and repairs rather than ornate work. The forge's coal is rationed by the council, which has made the owner increasingly protective of his stores. He keeps a list of every tool sent to the western road.

  • Stationer and map shopLeaf and Line

    Kept by Delyth

    A bright storefront selling paper, inks, maps, and practical spell materials. The owner stocks public lessons and copies of town records but keeps a locked cabinet for customers who can prove a scholarly purpose. The cabinet contains old maps whose roads do not match current council surveys.

  • TavernThe Long Table

    Kept by Roisin

    A broad timber tavern on the Main Streets, with benches spilling beneath flowering trellises. The kitchen serves generous meals and keeps a public board for work, missing goods, and notices from the farms. Its keeper quietly offers supper to anyone who has missed a day's wages.

  • TavernThe Quiet Bough

    Kept by Owyn

    This tidy house sits near the plaza, with a small garden court and private rooms for travelers. Its owner has made a habit of lending books and copying letters for guests who cannot write. The guests' book is well kept, though the pages for visits from council officials have been removed.

  • Government hallThe Round Hall

    Run by Merrit Vale

    The council's seat stands on a stone platform around the broad roots of the central tree. Its records rooms are dry, guarded, and conspicuously new beside the old living trunk. Citizens petition beneath carved branches; the private lower chamber is not listed on public plans.

  • ChurchThe Open Bough

    Run by Nerys

    The church is built of pale wood and woven branches, with open sides that let sunlight reach the congregation. Its bell choir can be heard across the Main Streets. A painted panel behind the altar shows the first bloom, but the oldest section has been carefully covered with newer boards.

  • SchoolThe Ring School

    Run by Pella

    The school occupies a quiet plaza building whose upper rooms look toward the central tree. Students study numbers, letters, practical magic, and the town's official history. Its teachers are respected, but the oldest maps in the school collection show a path to the western ruins that current maps omit.

Events

Lately

  • A section of the western ward failed for several minutes during a night storm.The council described it as a lightning fault, but Torren has tightened his patrols and Lady Isolde Vance has forbidden public discussion of the incident.
  • The council raised gate tolls to fund repairs and guard wages.Edge Section residents have organized a protest, while merchants fear a stoppage will interrupt deliveries of salt and iron.
  • Flowers around the central tree began blooming with pale, nearly colorless petals.Growers see it as a warning sign. The church calls it a blessing, though Nerys has privately begun comparing the blooms with an old prayer.

Calendar

  • First day of SpringBloomcountThe Bloomcount opens with a procession around the central tree. Each household lays a flower at its roots, then the council announces the year's planting grants.
    The twist · GM only
  • MidsummerThe Four Roads FairThe ring roads fill with food stalls, public dancing, and friendly contests. The guard's vanguard stages a ceremonial display in the arena.
    The twist · GM only
  • Last week of AutumnStorehouse ReckoningResidents trade seed, preserves, and winter cloth in the Main Streets. The council hears petitions in the plaza and settles disputes before winter stores are counted.
    The twist · GM only

History

Calendoris grew from a spring-side clearing into a prosperous ring town, and its founding story celebrates cooperative farming and a naturally blessed grove. The council's account of the western ruins is less convincing. A sealed ledger and mismatched dates point to an expedition that found something valuable there, then vanished from public record. Only Lady Isolde Vance and her closest circle know the protective magic began after that expedition.

  • Founding yearsThe First RingSettlers cleared a ring of woodland around a spring and built their first homes among the trees. Their descendants mark this as the town's beginning, though no surviving account says who chose the site.
  • Early councilThe Unseasonal BloomA season of blight killed fields beyond the settlement, but the central grove continued to flower. The council credited careful planting and communal labor, a version still taught in the schools.
  • Three generations agoThe Sealing of the WestThe official record says the first council sealed the western ruins after a cave-in. Old stonework and a missing expedition ledger suggest the explorers returned, and that their discovery shaped the hidden aegis.

Secrets

3 secrets · 5 rumours
  • Secret 1 · GM only
  • Secret 2 · GM only
  • Secret 3 · GM only

Rumours

1A guard came back from the western marker with black veins in one hand, then vanished from the watch roster.
2The central tree's roots reach into the sealed ruins, and the council knows exactly what they touch.
3An Edgehands runner can cross the outer farms without meeting a patrol, but the route costs more each week.
4The church's missing hymn verse describes a promise made to something under the tree.
5A trader claims the four roads were laid over older paths that all lead toward the same buried doorway.

Plot hooks

3
  • 1
    The Ledger Under the FloorMerrit Vale asks the party to carry copied ward accounts to a trusted contact before the council can seize them. The documents can prove that gate tolls support the aegis, but they also identify a living person as part of its maintenance. The contact is not a reformer, as Merrit believes, but a merchant who plans to sell the information to the highest bidder.

    Political investigation · Starts with Merrit Vale · Reward: A council writ clearing the party's gate tolls and access to the school archive

  • 2
    Tracks in Dead LeavesTorren hires the party to escort a discreet scouting party to the western marker and return with proof of the boundary's condition. The tracks beyond it belong to a wounded creature that has been trying to escape the ruins, not enter town. Killing it may remove the only witness to what is awakening below.

    Expedition and moral choice · Starts with Torren · Reward: A vanguard favor, equipment, and the right to question a captured intruder

  • 3
    A Fair Share of FlourSella Brin asks the party to find who is stealing grain from Edge Section households before the next toll protest turns violent. The thefts appear to support the Edgehands, but the missing sacks are being moved into a sealed council storehouse. The thief is an overworked guard trying to feed families he was ordered not to patrol.

    Investigation and negotiation · Starts with Sella Brin · Reward: Local support in the Edge Section and a concealed route through the outer farms

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn Calendoris into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.