This is a city for my Sasam world. You can find a link to the original thread in my signature, or you can just critique this on its own.
Para Cambiar
A rest-stop on the north-south trade route since the most ancient of times, itâ,¬,,¢s old name has fallen from use. During The Trapping the merchant nobility of the city werenâ,¬,,¢t willing to give up trade opportunities with the Renac, yet they sympathized with the Beastsâ,¬,,¢ wish for freedom. And so they chose the path of the versipellis, gaining the ability to interact with both the rapidly dividing north and south territories. Because any trading versipellis usually assumes another form after crossing through the city, it became know as â,¬Å"The Place to Change Skinâ,¬Â.
Location: Para Cambiar occupies a wide canyon on desert isthmus located between two major continents: Ocan, a mostly Renac-dominated region of great forests and farmland, and Saa-sanarbor, the great savannahs and jungles of Graa-shama and Beasts. The surrounding desert, known as Aqua Nona, is rocky badlands with few short routes form one side to the other. The canyon of Para Cambiar is the most direct route, and was formed by a river that still flows through, providing an easy source of water. [There is sea trade between the two continents, again, carried out by mostly versipellis, but there is a tendency to be suspicious of goods that are overtly from the other side. The land route provides a mental veil.]
Layout: There is little that needs to be said about city planning in Para Cambiar: the canyon and river restrict logical placement of important buildings to a north-south axis, with the prime real estate next to the river, and the layers getting poorer and poorer as one moves away from the water. Fortunately for these inhabitants there are a few springs among the rocks of the canyon, so it is possible to live near or on the walls of the canyon. Avenues run along each side of the river for the entire length of the city, so one could simply follow the river to pass right through Para Cambiar. Therefore the buildings immediately next to the river are all dedicated to those who are likely continuing on. The warehouses and exchange centers for goods that pass through hands within the city are the next off the river. In terms of ethnic districts, the south is obviously the place for Graa-shama, with buildings grouped a bit more communally than in the straight business sections further north. There is no section that is mostly Renac, as most are descended from original inhabitants who long ago accepted the presence of versipellis and Graa-shama. However there are a few establishments on the walls at the north end of the city that cater to a seedy crowd of racist Renac.
Defenses: The city once had walls back in the days of Hyre, but as the centuries passed there never appeared a need for them. Because they were a ready source of already-worked stone they were cannibalized as building material. Instead Para Cambiar relies on lookouts further down the canyon to the north and south to warn troops stationed at the barracks at each end of the city. Also many of the ordinary citizens are formidable opponents in their own right. The government usually deals with perceived threats by hiring mercenaries to hunt down the source.
Population: Para Cambiar has the highest concentration of versipellis on the near continents: a full 64% of the population. Renac are definitely in the minority, with only about 4%. Graa-shama occupy most of the remaining 32%, but there are a few other creatures such demons and desert beasts about.
Government: Para Cambiar dispenses with the middle-man: the rich openly run the government, and there isnâ,¬,,¢t even the pretense of elections or hereditary nobility. Positions on the city council are bought per year, with no term limits nor a maximum number of councilors. Since they are the best traders in the region, versipellis dominate. The Graa-shama inhabitants have pooled their resources enough to allow them to purchase one seat among them, which is rotated among business owners in the south of the city. All government functions are run with business-like efficiency, but so far pragmatism has dominated.
Buildings: Stone is always expensive, and therefore only the buildings of the wealthies individuals or conglomerates have stone, and even then only on the lowest floor. Everything else is made of adobe over frames of local wood. The city slopes down from the river: the closest buildings start with stone, then carry two more floors of adobe. Next are a few streets of two-story buildings, and the rest is one-floor, and sometimes one-room. On the cliff sides houses can be built on top of each other and slope against the rock walls, forming a maze of interconnected dwellings. A few places have been built over and into natural caves. Throughout all this there is little architecture: buildings are functional, except for those that need to attract customers along the river street.
Activity: Since most Graa-shama and versipellis have the ability to see in low light, they conduct business through the night. Any tasks that require more light than can be provided by the moon or a fire are done at dawn and dusk, before the heat of the day becomes unbearable. As a result newly-arrived Renac and some northern Graa-shama and verspiellis are often disoriented when sticking to their normal schedules.
Languages: Para Cambiar is a multiligual city. Any self-respecting trader knows all the languages of at least the nearest nations, in this case a majority of Sharian,
â,¬'Sharian: Language of the Shar, a group of elves exiled from Renac lands for suspicion of having Hyrian (i.e. Celestial) ancestry. They were allowed to found a settlement on the north coast of Saa-sanarbor, and now thrive as travelers of many kinds, including traders.
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Crime:
Threats: While bandit activity is a fact of life for any desert town, only the most foolhardy (and thus least prepared) attempt to raid the city. It is much more efficient to attack a relatively weak caravan. Conquest is a tactical possibility, but in practice it is unlikely: either the Graa-shama or the Renac laying claim to the city would immediately dry up the supply of goods from the other side, thus costing the conqueror while brining in no profit. The most serious threat is from desert monsters, especially as many can scale the cliffs at the side of the city.
The name of this thread immediately caught my attention (Cause it's in spanish :P). I thought this was interesting... though it stroke me as very odd that the city had no walls... *Shrug* It just feels that if this is a place where lot of money or goods are found, that it'd be a big target for raiding parties...
I loved the description of the place, though. It feels as if it is very beautiful. Keep it up :)
I like the idea you presented for the government, where instead of corruption, seats are bought in the open and all recognise and accept this fact. Nice city, and I look forward to more.
Sorry my criticism wasn't more helpful...
Quote from: Natural 20I like the idea you presented for the government, where instead of corruption, seats are bought in the open and all recognise and accept this fact. Nice city, and I look forward to more.
Sorry my criticism wasn't more helpful...
It's fine. One thing that always bugged me about government is that rich people quickly buy influence. My thinking was that if the rich people are the main influence on the city
anyway then they might as well just go ahead and run the place, and quite obviously money would be the deciding factor. Interestingly that then creates the opportunity for the lower classes to pool their resources to have at least one voice.
@Hellraiser: I said in the original idea post in my original thread that the area is more like the SW United States and Mexico, so in coming up with a name I wanted something spanish. It also works because spanish is a language with a lot of Latin influence, and the name of the major species of the region is in Latin.
Does anyone have anything they think I should also talk about: languages, cultures, crime?
Updated info to include a reason why the city neither has nor needs walls, and provide information on the various regional threats it face. Also beginning section on languages spoken and crime in the city.