Blackwater Basin

Blackwater Basin is built into the side of a massive volcanic shelf. The wealthy live in the High Spires where the air is thinner and cleaner, while the poor inhabit The Bilge, a series of ramshackle docks and shanties built directly onto the water-level stilts. Everything is vertical here. Getting from the Shanty Docks to the administration district requires a treacherous climb up mossy stone stairs or an expensive lift ride.

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Grimy Seaside Port City

Blackwater Basin

A vertical labyrinth of salt and soot clinging to volcanic cliffs above a hungry tide.

TypeGrimy Seaside Port City

Population12,000

WealthDisparate: High Spires are wealthy, The Bilge is impoverished.

GovernmentPlutocratic Council

ReadinessHigh vigilance regarding the sea, low regarding internal crime.

“The air is heavy with the smell of sulfur and brine while the city groans on massive wooden stilts. At night, the only safety comes from the eerie green glow of the streetlamps, casting long, distorted shadows across the Shanty Docks. Constant rhythmic creaking of timber mingles with the roar of the Great Sluice, creating a sense of perpetual mechanical unease.”

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Connections

Geography

RegionThe Iron Coast

ClimateDamp and foggy with frequent sulfurous mists from the volcanic vents.

TerrainSteep volcanic basalt cliffs with deep-water anchorage and artificial wooden platforms.

Travel Links

The Great Sluice Gate for naval trafficThe Basalt Stairs leading inlandRegular ferry skiffs between the stilts

Culture

Hardened and transactional. Survival depends on the lights staying on and the stilts holding fast.

Races

HumansDwarvesHalf-Orcs

Religions

The Order of the DeepThe Guild of Eternal Light

Arts & Entertainment

Tavern songs focus on 'stilt-work' and 'dredging.' Vertical racing on the pulley systems is a popular but deadly pastime for the youth of The Bilge.

History

The Basin began as a small sulfur mining camp but exploded into a major trade hub when the Deep-Water Trench was discovered. Its survival has always been precarious, relying on specialized alchemy to keep the sea monsters of the trench at bay. While the official records claim the city was founded by merchant princes, it was actually established by exiled alchemists looking for a place to conduct dangerous experiments.

The FoundingThe Stilting of the BilgeWhen the high tides rose thirty feet in a single night, the lower city was rebuilt on massive Ironwood stilts that still stand today.

The Middle YearsThe Great Sluice JamA massive sea creature became lodged in the Sluice, halting trade for a month and nearly starving the lower districts.

Recent HistoryThe Green Light DecreeThe Lamp-Lighter's Guild took official control over all nocturnal illumination, claiming their unique fuel was the only thing preventing kraken attacks.

Government

LeaderPort Master Silas Vane

Plutocratic Council

Key Laws

The Nightly Curfew for those without light-passesThe Stilt Tax for lower dock maintenanceProhibition of unsanctioned alchemical refining

Problems

The Guild Monopoly

The Lamp-Lighter's Guild has seized control of the fuel supply, effectively holding the city council hostage by threatening to let the streetlights go dark.

Economy

Industries

Sulfur MiningDeep-Water FishingAlchemical Refining

Scarcity

Firewood and arable land are nonexistent.

Wealth LevelDisparate: High Spires are wealthy, The Bilge is impoverished.

Exports

Refined SulfurSalted Kraken MeatBasalt Stone

Imports

TimberGrainFresh Water

Defenses

ReadinessHigh vigilance regarding the sea, low regarding internal crime.

Fortifications

The Great Sluice BarrierBioluminescent Deterrent Fields

The Basin Watch(400 Constables)

A group of armored guards primarily concerned with protecting the High Spires and the Sluice gates.

Law & Order

crime Level: High in the Bilge, strictly controlled in the Spires.
enforcement: Corruption is rampant. The Watch ignores anything that happens below the high-tide mark.
typical Punishment: Forced labor in the sulfur vents or public 'Dunking' in the cold harbor waters.

Silas Vane

NPC

Port Master

A man with salt-crusted boots and a heavy velvet coat that smells of old smoke and cheap gin.

Elara Thorne

NPC

High Overseer of the Lamp-Lighters

She wears robes of shimmering silk that never seem to pick up the local soot or grime.

Bram the Dredger

NPC

Docks Foreman

His skin is permanently stained gray from basalt dust and he is missing three fingers on his left hand.

The Iron Anchor Repairs

Shop

Blacksmith and Nautical Shop

A cluttered shop hanging precariously over the water. The heat from the forge is the only warmth to be found in the lower docks, making it a popular meeting spot.

The Millstone Inn

Tavern

Sailors, miners, and those looking to disappear for a night.

A dark, cramped tavern located inside a hollowed-out section of the basalt cliff. The walls weep moisture and the furniture is bolted to the floor to prevent it from shifting during high tides.

The Lamp-Lighter's Guild

Faction

Monopoly/Industrial

An alchemical guild that claims their bioluminescent lamps are the only thing keeping the trench monsters from attacking. They are the true rulers of Blackwater Basin.

The Bilge Rats

Faction

Rebel/Smuggler

A loose collective of dockworkers and smugglers who believe the people are being extorted by the Guild's manufactured fear.

The Shanty Docks

Point of Interest

A sprawling network of floating platforms and hanging tents where the poorest citizens live among the discarded waste of the upper city.

The Sulfur Vents

Point of Interest

Deep tunnels carved into the volcanic rock where the air is toxic but the gems and minerals found within are worth a fortune.

Calendar of Events

Mid-Summer

The Festival of the Low Tide

A day when the ocean recedes enough to reveal the true height of the stilts. People celebrate with races and repairs.

The low tide often draws a strange, bioluminescent mist that causes vivid hallucinations in those who breathe it.

Secrets

The green-glow fuel is actually the blood of a captive kraken being slowly drained beneath the Great Sluice.

City-Wide: Exposing this would destroy the Guild's reputation but also risk the creature escaping and leveling the city.Characters find a drainage pipe in the Sluice Office dripping thick, glowing green ichor that smells like ancient rot.

Rumors

Old Barnaby knows the real reason Silas Vane's daughter hasn't been seen in public for six months.

The things Bram the Dredger finds in the harbor aren't always trash; sometimes they're still screaming.

The green light doesn't keep the monsters away; it just marks us as property so they don't eat us yet.

Plot Hooks

A Dimming Hope

Bram the Dredger claims a crate of high-grade fuel was stolen during a midnight shift and replaced with colored water. He needs it found before the next lamp-lighting or the Watch will hang him for negligence.

Sabotage/InvestigationBram the DredgerA map of the secret tunnels leading from The Bilge to the High Spires.

The Silent Spires

Silas Vane hires the party to discreetly deliver a package to a contact in the High Spires. The complication is that the contact is already dead and the package is actually a sample of the raw kraken blood intended for a rival alchemist.

Rescue/StealthSilas Vane500 Gold Pieces and a permanent residence permit in the mid-level districts.

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