It is a low magic, humanocentric campaign that focused on politics, religion and war. Although it does have some rare fantasy elements, they're presented in such as way that they are more mystical than commonplace as in most Dungeon and Dragons gameworlds. Sorcery isn't commonplace, if not seen whatsoever. Divine magic (as through the Chosen proxies of the gods of the four faiths) are rare as well, but have facilitated some truly world-moving events.
I have taken influence from practically everywhere; George RR Martin, real-world history, and a few loose interpretations of alternative Earth. One part of the game I am particularly proud of is the Faith section of the game, which uses a pseudo-Christian model adapted to a polytheistic faith (The Divine Source). I use a real world model in order to suspend disbelief easier using familiar elements that players can identify with.
All maps created in CC3 using the Fargoth coastline to develop the world. Although I only have 4 maps up thus far, I will be adding the multitude of maps I've created with CC1-3 soon.
The Races section is almost complete. I am finishing out The Lost Races this week.
Read it, give me some feedback! I am open to new ideas to help build my world.
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com
Ciao~
Moniker, I like your site. As I told you once before, you've done a good job making a wiki look like a real web page. Can you talk a little bit on how you made your maps?
The maps I made using Campaign Cartographer 3. For those who don't know too much about this program, it's a huge hog of system resources and has a very, VERY steep learning curve (unless you're aquainted with Autocad). It has taken me over 5 years just to master the fundamentals, as it is antiintuative. It's one of my only qualms with the program, although the boons outweight the negatives now that I understand how to use it.
Basically, it works sort of like Photoshop, in that you create your maps on layers. However, CC3 lacks the fundamental ease of use as Photoshop does.
CC3 has a bevy of symbols you can use to pop on the map, hex diagrams, font types, sizes, shapes and contours you can overlay one another to bring a pseudo three dimensional look to the map. You can trick out graphics (to make background glow). If any of you are familiar with the craftsmanship of the Forgotten Realms maps, they were all made with CC3. Most game-produced maps are made with this program.
One useful feature is that you can import any jpg or gif image. So, what I did is I took my original handdrawn maps, scanned them and used them as a Trace layer when I started redoing them in CC3.
Also, anyone wishing to build a hyperlinked wiki-style site should head to pbwiki.com - the wiki use is free and is very nice to keep things indexed and catalogued. If you know a bit of java, you can do a lot of amazing things with the wiki. For novices, they have an easy editing system and even include free stylesheets so you can customize your wiki. I highly, highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to keep their campaign online for free, without having to pay for hosting or domains.
Hmm, I like what I have read. One thing I dislike, however, is your tendency to use LotR names (Meduseld, Rhovanion and Osgiliath to name but three).
That is one of the things I am definitely struggling to resolve. I blame my early years during middle school from borrowing names from all over.
I am totally in favor of retconning all common names from Lord of the Rings completely out. However, it would destroy the precident set within the campaign about major areas, names and locales for the players within the game. One area that was immediately changed was Rhovanion to Rhovania, mostly due to the Baltic/Black Sea sort of influence of the country and the accidental mispronunciation of the country as Rhovania by a player who has difficulty in hearing. It worked out well. ;)
I've made some efforts to change the more minor ones, particularly the areas that have yet to be visted explored. The Southern Empire is currently going under a complete rewrite.
Quote from: MonikerAlso, anyone wishing to build a hyperlinked wiki-style site should head to pbwiki.com - the wiki use is free and is very nice to keep things indexed and catalogued. If you know a bit of java, you can do a lot of amazing things with the wiki. For novices, they have an easy editing system and even include free stylesheets so you can customize your wiki. I highly, highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to keep their campaign online for free, without having to pay for hosting or domains.
Right Here![/url] :) I haven't researched pbwiki yet; we use mediaWiki (which is what is found on wikipedia, etc), so the styles are a bit different.
Hey Moniker,
I did a little research. I don't know if it's exactly the same tag with pbwiki as it is with mediawiki, but in mediawiki, if you insert this tag:
{{TOCleft}}
before you start listing the items for a TOC, then the TOC will stay to the left, and text will float to the right of it. May be worth a shot.
Ac, no luck! I'll have to hit up the pbwiki forums to figure this one out. It's rather annoying!
New Organizations updated on the webpage; Belegost, city of the Andals updated.
A lot, and I mean A LOT of updates overall. I've posted a short synopsis of Aglador on the first page, the focus of where the campaign has been over the past eight years out of game, 16 years in-game passage of time throughout the campaign. As the Border War II looms upon the horizon of Rhovania, Aglador and Goth Moran, I've put up details concerning The Pale as the aggressor against Aglador and some of the standards amongst the Black Knights of Landon.
The 'kicker' event that started my campaign world (surrounding the Six Companions at the beginning of the Kinstrife) 12 long years ago has been written up as well.
Two new classes, a complete rewrite of the non-magical Ranger and one Prestige Class tailored for the game written up.
Cities and Notable NPC's on the sidebar Glossary as well. I have finished the format for the website, so the text sizes and headers should be correct.
Enjoy and I appreciate any constructive criticism.
Cheers~
Country Flags Created
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Realms-of-Deismaar
Six Houses of the Andals heraldry updated
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/The%20Six%20Houses%20of%20the%20Andals
Been a long time, but updates galore!
Hmm.
I actually love the pbwiki look. I mean, I really love it.
I think I have similar ganming/reading backgrounds, as well, and have ended up in a somehwat similar place, except for the humanocentric place.
Even in terms of the polytheism tied to some of the pseudo-christian model (with saints and all).
Obviously, all the tolkeinisms need to go away. They do distract horribly. Even all the terms on the splash page, like 'southron' and 'breeland'. You have done so much so well to let something like this hold your work back.
I love your organizations. I run a politics/culture heavy game, and guilds and organizations are my meat and drink. And yours (for once) don't leave me hungry. Dump the name Hanseatic league, though, and the Name Olorin. Keep the sisterhood of mercy name, even if Andrew Eldrich threatens to sue, like he does everyone else. I'm looking forward to the regional variations of some of these. These organizations (and I do speak from experience) will be the things that will set the versimalitude of your setting.
I like the campaign pages. They have a lot of life.
(you've also given me my first worry in a long time...I cannot post my 'Tale of Years' anywhere the players can see it. Maybe I have to create a 'common knowledge' version?)
Agreed. Pruning out LOTR-type names has been a huge issue, as a lot of these places have been visited and/or have been a part of the game for quite sometime (since my gaming group and I were 14). Olorin, namely.
Not sure why Breeland was even listed like that, it should be Breland. Southron was a slip of the mind, too much LOTR methinks over the years!
Otherwise, I'd love to see some of the work you've done on organizations; can you link me to your campaign thread post?
Cheers~
Gladly...here is at least a link to my stream-of-consiousness disaster thread. You'll aslo see a shared love of writing 'through' the bards and poets of the ages.
I'm enjoying the pagaentry of the six houses, and the necessary changes that haoppen through the years. I need to get a better handle on the chronology, though.
Am loving the Brotherhood of Othello...
What type of population density? Mine is very sparse, with some bundled areas. You could probably take an Army into some areas of my Grey March and no one would know for weeks...
The population is very, very spread out. The Aradain and Dalefolk (the predecessors to the ancestral Andals) have very concentrated settlements with smaller populations, whereas the Southern Empire is somewhat larger in population and concentration yet divided by the vast expanse of wilderness. Aglador, by and by, is much smaller than Goth Moran and the Southern Empire.
I don't think I've uploaded the hex-based map to the Cartography section (as I generally define distances by leagues or days on horseback as the players travel), but it's roughly 10 days on horse between Girithlin and Belegost along the Kingsroad if that gives any indication as to the distances traveled. The entire world rests above the equator, so is fairly temperate. However, places like Goth Moran trap winter winds and have a higher altitude, making it colder. Places like Goth Moran are almost below sea level, and is very marshy and wet (with the highest peaks in the Horned Society, thus the coldest regions rest in the mountains). Aglador and Dunbrude is rainy, and the Southern Empire is very warm.
Population has always been a thing I've struggled with though, particularly in regards to city sizes. I've defined Kahabro as the largest settlement yet never really nailed down the approximate number of people within it. Belegost, the Parliamentary capital of Aglador, has a population of 64k. Yet, the Aradain/Dalefolk who settled there weren't nearly as numerous as the Gothric that formed Kahabro. I had at first thought to model Belegost roughly in size and pop
I've tried to model a lot of the economy, life expectancy and social settings similar to the Dark Ages (although technically they've been using steel for about 35 years now). There was once a website that had an excellent chart to determine demographics by area, modified by years settled and other factors, but I cannot find it. For now, I ad hoc a lot of the information. Players know Kahabro is the most populous city in the world, Girithlin is sparse yet rolling and Belegost is small and densely populated. I've never been too big on specific numbers for population (although I, like many others, take pride in the smallest of details).
Too true.
BTW, love the Fat Candle gang. Names are very, very important.
Population is also very tied to available food supply. Yet somehow 3/4 of the settings I look through have a farmer or 2 for a town of 50, or 10 farms for a city of a thousand. I have a city that was built on the ancient ruins of the Vale of Silence, where the orignal temples that the Celestial PLanars actually lived. Then it was a village, then a town, the a city, which took the name of Winter, then it was the main city in the State of Winter, with villages outside it, then it swallowed many of the villages into its boundaries, and became renamed as Stenron (after Jon Stenron), and now it is the biggest city in the world, the Capitol of the Grey March. No one has any idea of it's most ancient origins (though some funky stuff has been found in the seweres by the players...no one has bothered to figure oiut why so many doors lead there)...but I can say that there aer almost half a million people living there. Since there are only two hundered thousand souls in all of Trabler (a country), that says a lot about ancient Stenron. But the farming communes around the center of the Grey March Republic are extensive.
I can see the dark ages in here, though there are edges of light creeping through.
I love the mercantile and economic dynamics. WHat sort of monetery system are you using, and whatvrates of exchange? How much do things cost?
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm
This is the website I was talking about; an excellent resource.
As for monetary, we use a system based off of the Crown (silver) and Bitpenny (copper). Gold coins, commonly referred to as an Andal, is extremely, extremel rare (as gold is practically unheard of in the gaming world and that which does exist in circulation came from the Forbidden Kingdom - much of the existing gold coinage has been melted down and turned into roya regalia for Aradain kings [thus its uniqueness]). Generally speaking, we use the d20 Player's Handbook for rates of item purchase, although bartering is more commonplace than buying things between players and NPCs.
I want to revise the entire list with a download I found online for items and cost. Yet, I am struggling with figuring out a wage per month by profession. Do you have any recommendations?
that site rocks.
Medieval economies are very intersting, and actually very regionalized. Very commonly people coming in from rural areas would come to the city and find their money bought them very little. I've done some intersting reading on fairs and markets, and the amount done by bartering is huge. Which is a realistic but really difficult way to run a game.
I use the gold horn as the mercantile standard and the silver children as the standard coin of Igbar. The mean income for igbar is set at 2000 gold horn per year, or 40000 silver children, but this is skewed upward dramatically by the wealthy, and if you go to an alpha level of .05 and remove the top 5% and bottom 5%, it shoots down to 1050 gold horn. The median income is 740 gold horn.
And I'm a bit of a freak to know that. But I'd advise you to figure those numbers first, and figure out the price of property. Owning property is a huge deal, so that changes everything.
It is pretty easy to figure from there what the yearly gross income for a proffesion should be in your world.
The website has went through a vicious rewrite and CSS revision. The wiki is now completely hotlinked within itself and is approaching the 450 pages written mark!
A new navigation module on the right-hand side of the page has a more in-depth Table of Contents.
New content added to the following areas:
Political Geography
Physical Geography
Races updates
Forbidden Kingdom updates
Divine Source/faiths updates
Meduseld Protectorate
Lake Avernus
Eastern Khazar
Goth Moran
Ghastria (coming soon)
Cheers~
I just need to give you props for the Gran Grimoire.
That's a great item. Really. Very well done.
You're getting a review, and you will LIKE IT!* ;)
*Please note that the review is being typed while read, questions subject to self answering, no purchase necessary, void where prohibited, many will enter few will win.
Normally I don't like wikis, but I'll give it another go. I'm skipping personalities, simply because I don't enjoy wading through pages of character bios, and I gloss over those pieces on other reviews too. I'm also skipping campaign updates, since I assuming that has nothing to do with the setting. Since this is a wiki, I'm betting that I'll be jumping around alot, as I'll open each link to catch it, then keep moving down the line...
Akatosh Septim? Elderscrolls much? :D The Imperial Cult? Dude, forget the LotR references, Bethesda's going to sue your ass! :) I haven't done any reviewing yet and already I see familiar names. At least there isn't a Blades organization...
You have flags. I'm jealous. Those are very, very cool, and I demand you make a thread telling us all how you made them. :)
By looking at your variant rules table, I see a couple of familiar faces. I haven't gotten there yet, but unless you altered it, posting the XP tables for D&D is violating copyright law. You might want to change that, but I won't be ratting you out. Fight the Man.
Your graphics I'm beginning to love more and more, I want to know your secret!
Secunda? Tsk tsk tsk... Kudos to the timeline though. Sorry, timelines. I know how much work those take to put together.
The Andals. So they're actually two races? Or are you using races and species?
At least Akatosh Septim isn't a person, but shame on you nontheless!
I like the concept of Caer Moray, and I see no Elderscrolls references!
Girithlin is the first real city I've come to, and you don't seem to have much there. I'm disappointed, since that's the kind of stuff I like the best. Laketown seems like fun though; am I right in guessing a bit of influence from Tortuga? New Farouen is a bit strange, why does it still exist? Kahabro I want to hear more about, I like that you've got a whole campaign ready and waiting beneath the city.
You've got a very well developed set of religions, even if one of them is based on Christianity. I'm pleasantly surprised that you were able to pull of a polytheistic hierarchy with Christian overtones.
Another is based on the Imperial Cult... you even took its name... And I see we found the other missing moon... :-/
The old believers sounds a bit like what I've read of Druidism after christianity came to the English isles. I'd like to see this one expanded on.
Arkay? Seriously, I should be counting these...
Orthodoxy sounds more like its own religion than an offshot of the other.
It is at this point that I'm a little bit eyesore. Hopefully I'll come back to this setting, but not until you get rid of the references. You've moved the names out of their former context, so it's confusing the heck out of me.
I have to say Moniker that I like your setting better than the published one they did for "Song of Ice and Fire" which I was kind of wary of. I guess that's because I identify the books so much as particular stories and I'd find that distracting. Your alternate history of the Andals is very compelling.
Also thanks very much for putting up that link. I'm working on the war economy of New Edom right now. Difficult work even for a student of history.
Of your UA updated classes, the Warrior seems to be a bit feat-happy. Is a bonus feat at EVERY LEVEL really balanced? I mean, that one-ups the fighter. (maybe two-ups).
I find that the Adept seeming to serve as the generic class for all spellcasters and just specify whether divine (Cleric) or arcane (Sorcerer/Wizard) is an interesting one. It certainly simplifies things, but is there enough potential for variety between the types of casters to warrant this level of simplification?
It depends on what you mean by "balanced".
Warriors are the answer to the 10th level Wizard. They have greater accessability to Feats (mirroring that of the accessability to many different spells as like a Wizard or Cleric), therefore no longer serving as one weapon trick ponies.
In that, from vigorous playstesting my gaming group and I have found that although Adepts are more versatile than Warriors, the Warrior class has more options in combat at his disposal. The change from class abilities to Feats has brought the classes in parity with entries from the Monster Manual. Since the game doesn't lean towards heavy damage-based spells (and for that matter, is a low magic campaign), there has been great imbalance between entries from the rare monsters they do fight.
Simplifying the classes to three succinct, generic roles has seemingly made my players much happier. They enjoy the fact that as Warriors they can access a bevy of feats, as an Adept they have access to practically any spell they wish to take and as Experts, have the most variety of class-based skills with moderate performance in combat. It also provided me, as a gamemaster, a better and more realistic way to approach NPC classes. In my game, the PCs aren't really any different than NPCs as far as it goes for classes. Experts can be priests, merchants, aristocrats, shipwrights, blacksmiths - anything they wish because they are able to choose what skills they want (instead of being stuck with ones that aren't tailored for what they want to roleplay). Heck, you can even make an Expert who mimics a warrior.
As for the fluff, in the campaign world I run sorcery is simply that - sorcery. Gods, on the backend, don't grant spells. However, many mannors of Adepts have claimed they "speak with gods" and work through their divine word (although technically, it isn't true). The idea of the adept is that it is a generic class; as to what the character really is, whether he be chosen by the gods, a practioner sorcerer, some poor sap given the ability to wield great powers, a concubine to dark gods or a man returned from madness who can suddenly "see" the threads that bind life together (and play them, much as a musician plays an instrument), the adept is merely the generic class.
Thank you all for the feedback and criticism. I am in the process of making a few changes, if not simply to get rid of any and all references to Tolkien's work. It's requiring some retconning, but that's fine. Fortunately, a lot of those areas have been unvisited by the PCs.
On that note, I present the updated city map, complete with clickable interface! http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Notable-Settlements
The setting for my 4th edition game is on its way for full development for Year 200 Kahabro (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kahabro). This is the second launch of a major city by edition (I launched Belegost (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Belegost), the City of Ages for our 3rd edition game).
The game will take place in Kahabro, also called the City of Lights in Goth Moran (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Goth+Moran). It takes a little bit of Pholtus, influence from Sigil of Planescape and the Conan series, wrapping it tightly into the most densely populated trade city of the known world (while still retaining the humanocentric, politically-charged low magic feel of the gaming world)
Organizations are still being fleshed out, as are the merchant prince houses. A lot of information has went into the districts, but little into locales and influential people.
Living in Kahabro
This sectrion really made it for me.
In a few short sentences you did more for the 'feeling' of Kahabro than most of us can get with lists and reams of raw data. Very, very nice. How long businesses are open? Such a little but important detail...so nice.
I also like the way you detailed each 'section' of town.
A bump for development of Kahabro (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kahabro) and its factions/organizations:
The Sisterhood http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Sisterhood
The Cabal http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Cabal
The Legate http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Legate
The Fifth House http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Fifth+House
:ninja: Like stealthy ninja, Epic Meepo sneaks into your setting and takes a quick peek around.
I love the various city maps. Even though they're hand drawn, they're of very good quality. But where are the world and regional maps? They should pop up like artwork right at the top of the Physical Geography section, but I didn't see them. And I know they exist (or did at one point) because Ishy talks about them in an old comment on this post.
You have a long list of affiliations and even a history of the Andal's migration. Both of those sections could benefit from the inclusion of maps. The main list of affiliations could divide the organizations up by region and have a map showing the relative locations of their bases of operation. And a simplistic map depicting the course of the Andal's migration would also be nice.
So, all in all, very good. As you can see, my only real complaint is that there should be more. More maps and more everything!
This has been an Epic Meepo stealthy ninja review. :ninja:
EDIT: With power of ninja, you can make first post on new page! :ninja:
I appreciate the review, Meepo!
I'm working on getting more maps up on the website; I decided to consolidate some of the tabs (and eliminate the political/physical geography one).
The Cities and Settlements, as well as the Political Geography, should have maps attributed to those tabs now (with clickable locations). I am steadily trying to work in regional maps, but a lot (and I mean a LOT of them) are pencil sketches in a sketchbook that have been done ad hoc from the larger-scale world map.
I am finally drawing a seven year storyarc to a close with the advent of 4th edition. As I intend to advance the storyline 21 years into the future of Aglador, here is what I am presenting as a general premise of the game. It provides an epilogue of the actions the player characters have taken over the years and presents the basis of the story for Year 200: Aglador.
There are a number of similar names which can sometimes be confusing to those who aren't actually playing in the campaign. If you can find any glaring issues with the following prologue, please let me know.
Thanks in advance!
Act I: The Rise of King Verminas Belgarion
[spoiler](http://ogy.cc/thor_34.jpg)[/spoiler]
The stage upon which the war unfolds is a country known as [Aglador]. No stranger to strife amongst its kin, King [Aden Ladros] was branded a heretic by the Archbishop [Blicard] in 178 Third Age and died within the dungeons in the holy city of [Mithrin Roel]. Duke [Verminas Belgarion] ursurps the throne in Girithlin, the apparent victor of a political battle fought within the shadows. The death of [Ethan Dautinthorne], the crown prince of Aglador, soon came thereafter due to malady. Over a period of eleven years, the newly-crowned King Verminas instituted vast political reformation and eliminated Aglador's monetary reliance upon the [Southern Empire of Pharazon].
Aglador is thrown backward into a dark age.
In year 200, King [Verminas Belgarion] is suddenly stricken by malady (ironically, the same flux that had killed the crown prince) and dies in his ancestral home of [Caer Moray]. The question becomes who is to take the throne with no successor. Aurora Belgarion is the niece of Verminas, living as an adherent in Mahalma under the influence of the [Olornite] Father [Paramon]. Prior to admittance, she was adopted by King Verminas as his daughter. This would make her the heir apparent, and when she was of age she would marry a man of the King's choosing. However, the Queen Elaine Belgarion unexpectedly became pregnant with a second son in 200, giving birth to [Warren Belgarion]. The newborn infant would ascend the throne by proclaimation from the Queen. Too young to rule, the crown prince required a male regent who would be king in all but name. [Cassamir Dautinthorne], brother of the Queen, seemed the obvious choice for regency. However, fearing the influence such an appointment would give the Queen and the aristocracy, [Parliament] refused to back him. Instead, they recommend Duke Ethan Priam.
Act II: The Two Dukes
[spoiler](http://ogy.cc/twdukes.jpg)[/spoiler]
Duke [Cassamir Dautinthorne] and Duke [Ethan Priam] are both distinguished; one the head of [Iron Throne] and master of [Belegost] and the other a folk hero and general of Rhovania's armies during the [Border War II]. Cassamir counts as ally to the greater part of the older aristocracy to the throne of Aglador, those that supported the rise of [Balbanese Dautinthorne] and his royal house during the [Kinstrife]. However, the disenfranchised and fallen nobility left in the aftermath of the second Border War look to [Ethan Priam], a symbol of unification and strength amongst [Dalefolk] and [Aradain] alike.
Eventually, Aurora Belgarion is taken from Mahalma to the holy city and then turned over by the [Knights of the Southern Cross] to Duke Cassamir in Belegost. Casssamir then declares her the heir apparent to the throne, undermining the wishes of the Queen Elaine. Although marriage is rumored with Aurora to Cassamir or his son [Balbanese Dautinthorne II], nothing has yet come to pass.
Although the lines have been drawn, it is not strictly between the [Aradain] and [Dalefolk]. The kidnapping of Aurora has precipitated the war with Duke Ethan, as he musters his soldiers along the edge of the [Western Myrkwood], rallying loyal barons on his side.
Major Houses
[House Dautinthorne]
Duke Cassamir Dautinthorne (Belegost)
Rose during the Kinstrife.
Ethos - careful and patient but cruel in execution
[House Belgarion]
Queen Elaine Belgarion and crown prince Warren Hamilton (Girithlin)
Duchess Aurora Belgarion (Caer Moray)
Dissadent house from the Kinstrife. Rose during the inquisition of Aden Ladros and Estel Dautinthorne.
Ethos - calculating yet practical
[House Priam]
Duke Ethan Priam (Hornburg)
Founded upon the unification of Rhovania beneath the [Valelaw]
Ethos - vigilant but vengeful
New updates for the organization Iron Throne, the sword of Parliament in the country of Aglador: http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/The+Iron+Throne
Map of the western hemisphere completed with cities on a hex grid
[spoiler]http://ogy.cc/wh_nas.jpg [/spoiler]
color, 9 meg file
LOCK PLEASE. Starting a new thread
Big updates!
The campaign in the city of Kahabro is going extremely well. I've updates a number of factions and districts within the city, and included the true history of it's founding beneath the Gothric princes on the front page of the wiki.
deismaar.pbwiki.com
I always enjoy your stuff.
Kahabro is interesting, and you are showing more and more of your own personality in this city, and less and less the influence of certain authors.
I love the Factions and organizations, especially the nine men.
750 noble families? That is a lot..and I like how you go into the breakdown, but you need to tell me what makes then noble versus rich.
I enjoyed the breakdown on the Fifth House. That helped me get an idea of the type of rule.
I think I am not going to update to 2.0 PBwiki for Celtricia...I don't like how segmented it looks.
Noble Families
The 750 noble families have specific influence with the 21 Merchant-Princes which rule the city. Those who qualify as nobles within the city either have a stake in the heavy grain trade industry or within its banking system for lending towards the economy of the city and its goverment. Although there are many houses which lay claim to the aristocracy, only twenty-one specific houses truly have influence within the governance of the city itself.
The noble houses exist as an extension of local politics and the interaction between the artisan's guilds. Truly, they might as well be one in the same, as that many of the alderman of the guilds themselves come from highborn families.
Factions
The faction that the players work for is the Kargat http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kargat, which is "lead" by the Founder http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/The+Founder to kill the Nine Men.
The basis of the story is that they're all indentured to the Founder's whim and will as measure to exhonerate themselves from terrible crimes they've committed. No one really knows what the Founder is, or who he's working for, but they carry out his wishes in the shadows. The relationship between the Kargat and the Legate http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Legate.
The Foundry, which is where the Kargat operate out of, is also where the secret alchemical processes to develop Walstanian Pyreshot is kept. It's well-guarded, as it is the reason the Legate and the Merchant-Princes have held onto the city for so long without the intervention of the Fifth House theocracy. It more or less serves as a city-state unto itself.
PB 2.0
I haven't really settled on whether I like it yet or not. The sidebar is cleaner and it carries over the right fonttypes much easier, but is kind of a pita to manage since I am used to upmarking in wiki format, as opposed to using the selectable buttons to denote headers, italics and the like.
Just started reading your setting and I'm enjoying it so far, especially the detailed city layout.
One thing that struck me that has somewhat been noted already above are the names. I'm not sure if you're naming things after people/places in other settings intentionally, but the name Belgarion is shared by the protagonist of David Eddings' Belgariad/Mallorean, while Baelish is the surname of Littlefinger in A Song of Ice and Fire... you might want to change those names or tweak them, because to those who've read a fair bit of fantasy they'll stand out pretty strongly.