Highcourt, City on the Edge

Posted by Jonathan on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Written by Jonathan Jacobs
Illustrated by Danny Rupp

Highcourt: City on the Edge by Danny Rupp

Introduction

Over two decades ago, a powerful earthquake drained Mokosh Lake, a vast body of water that was a lifeline for Highcourt and its surrounding provinces. The lake once provided fresh water for farms, trade for traveling merchant marines, and a seemingly endless supply of fish and crabs to its people. Now, where its docks were once chockablock with fishermen, merchants, and travelers, Highcourt’s docks are nothing more than teetering planks of drift wood hanging over a sunken, black swamp below. The city as a whole has become a festering sore, slowly sliding off its rocky perch into the vast Mokosh Swamp to its West. To no one’s surprise, the fishermen and farmers have long since fled and large sections of the city lie completely abandoned or worse. The only regular visitors to Highcourt these days are the passing merchants who stop for salacious relaxation and a few days of gambling. It is also not uncommon for some of the kingdom’s most respected nobles to frequent the city as a “holiday in the country.” For all these sordid things, Highcourt has them in spades and that is exactly how The Desire wants to keep things.

Background

Highcourt is an old city that grew up from a small fishing village. Its growth was largely the result of a deep water lake harbor and a broad floodplain to its east that was an ideal pastureland. The combination of agricultural exports coupled with the ability to accommodate large galleys made Highcourt a central trading hub for the region. As the city grew, so did its importance as a center of prosperity, culture, and government. At the peak of Highcourt’s prominence, it featured two scholarly colleges and more than a dozen trade guilds. The city eventually had seven wards, each separated by high walls and gate houses; beyond the outer most walls lay an urban sprawl that spilled into the countryside for miles.

Then, some twenty-three years ago, the rise of Highcourt was brought abruptly to an end. An earthquake destroyed a large portion of the city, but no building was left untouched by the quake’s wrath. As the people of the city rallied together to rebuild, the worst effects of the tragedy came slowly. In the months that followed, Mokosh Lake slowly drained away and left behind a black and fetid swampland. The rivers feeding the lake had been diverted by the earthquake to other destinations. Ships stopped coming to Highcourt altogether, and those that were in port at the time of the quake were left to be grounded in the swampland below the city. What was once a deep harbor became sunken marshland.

Along with the departing of the water, so too did the people of Highcourt leave to find more prosperous lands. Many of the farmers in the surrounding country remained, but they no longer had large bustling markets or ship captains looking to fill their cargoes with grain. Within two years, the city’s governing council collapsed and the rule of law was placed into the hands of Mayor Saibo Blackhunter – a thug and criminal by many accounts.

Now, after decades of decline, Highcourt is a lawless refuge for the kingdoms worst offenders. Entire wards of the city have been abandoned and a few have even been sealed up over fears of what lays within. The Market Ward, which sits directly along the major trade road through the region, remains the only section of the city that is even marginally safe.

The Market Ward

Mayor Saibo Blackhunter uses force and intimidation to maintain the appearance of law and order within the walls of The Market Ward. Buildings have a fresh look and the streets are regularly cleaned of trash and debris. New visitors to Highcourt coming to this ward often think the city is on the mend, but these first impressions are usually quickly forgotten once they have a chance to stay a while.

The real goal of Saibo and Desirae Turpin (see below) is to provide services and products to Highcourt’s visitors that are not easily obtained elsewhere in the kingdom. They understand that appearances are everything, and they have gone to great lengths to rebuild the Ward to make it as appealing as possible, especially to those who are used to more comfortable settings. Under a thinly veiled pretense of personal entertainment and pleasure; drunken debauchery, gambling, prostitution, blood sports, and even slave trading are all regular fare for Highcourt these days. As a result, its reputation has reached every corner of the kingdom. “We celebrated like we were in Highcourt!” has even become a common expression from people who have indulged too much, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Anyone who stays in The Market Ward for more than a few days is likely to realize that Mayor Saibo is not really the one calling the shots; it’s Desirae Turpin; also known simply as The Desire. She surrounds herself with an aura of authority and soul-aching want, as well as an entourage of well armed consorts. The source of her unnatural power remains a mystery, and it is said that no man can turn down one of her requests. Saibo Blackhunter is no exception to that rule either. Rumors have it that she orchestrated the dissolution of the town’s governing council and Saibo’s appointment nearly twenty years ago. Rumor or not, once he was handed the title of Mayor of Highcourt, The Desire stepped out from behind her curtain of secrecy as his lover and partner. In the years since, she has successfully reigned in control of some of town’s worst factions and set up The Market Ward as her seat of authority. The average visitor has nothing to fear from her though, unless of course, they have something she wants.

The Other Wards

The rest of the city is a mishmash of wards and neighborhoods with varying degrees of occupation. Each ward has its own unique character, but the one thing they all have in common is a total absence of law & order.

Colleges of Science & Witchcraft: The waterfront ward surrounding the ruins of the two colleges in Highcourt was once an upscale residential neighborhood that featured two markets and Shops Lane: a half-mile long stretch of specialty shops catering to the super elite. But that was two decades ago. Now, the majority of the row houses are boarded up and empty, and those that are occupied provide residence to the town’s recluses. The old colleges also look abandoned. Many of the buildings on each of the campuses collapsed after the earthquake and were never rebuilt. Recently, rumors have spread through The Market Ward that some scholars looking to reclaim something have holed up in the basement of the College of Witchcraft.

The Docks: The many docks that once lined the harbor of Highcourt now stand high above the marshlands that have claimed the lake bottom below. It’s a dismal place with scores of run down shacks and empty market squares that barely lend any clues to its former status. The main residents of this ward include a group of thieves and thugs who have converted a collection of warehouses into a walled compound.

Duke’s Palace: Sitting high on the central hill in the center of the town lays the Duke Genbdenhal’s palace. The Duke and his entire family were killed during the earthquake when his residence collapsed. The town council, before it handed authority over to Mayor Saibo Blackhunter, sealed this palace after there were reports of some unnatural beasts roaming the grounds within. The Desire would like nothing more than to have the palace cleared out and to make it her own residence and brothel, but she has yet to find anyone willing to break the seal and venture inside.

Northport: This section of the city was once a small village north of Highcourt that eventually became part of its larger neighbor as both communities grew into one. It lacks any walls, and lies several miles up the same road that The Market Ward sits on. It is the only area in Highcourt where “honest” people reside. Northport includes several small taverns and two inns that do not offer anything beyond drink, food, and a bed to sleep in. Parties interested in more nefarious activities are directed to The Market Ward to the south. While there’s no port anymore, the small community has maintained one of the only farmers markets in the region. With the help of the priests and congregation from a local holy temple, they have also managed to resist the infiltration by agents representing The Desire and her organization.

Temple Quarter: This hard to reach area of Highcourt is situated at the end of a peninsula that juts out into what was once the lake. Now, it looks more like a finger of rock sticking out into the marshlands and topped with no less than a dozen ruined brick and marble temples. Seemingly devoid of life, something unsavory moves about in the night in the Temple Quarter. Observers will note that no vegetation grows among the ruins there, despite the sweltering subtropical heat.

Westend: On the southern end of the city lies Westend, a waterfront district that once was the home to lower and middle class citizens of Highcourt. This ward was expanded three times over the years, so a series of gatehouses and walls partition the ward into several smaller districts. These days, life in Westend is fairly bleak as there are no functioning markets and not a single merchant shop from which to purchase any goods or services. Nonetheless, people looking to hide from preying eyes or for a place to start over remain here or have come and taken up residence in the homes that remained. The only notable group within Westend is The Marshlanders, a group of hunters who are the only trackers and guides who are able to navigate the quick-sinking mud lands of Mokosh Swamp.

Using Highcourt

Highcourt can be easily dropped into any RPG campaign setting with little to no changes in its description. The city works well either as a frontier destination that is beyond the usual authorities at the heart of civilization, or possibly as a city set more centrally in a dystopic civilization in the midst of its fall.

Highcourt is well suited for gritty adventure and seedy dealings with the underbelly of adventure. Also, since much of the city is ruined and uninhabitable, there are many possibilities for more traditional adventures take place among the ruins. The city sewers, temple ruins, or the lower levels of the Colleges provide excellent opportunities for classical dungeon adventures. In addition, the nearby marshlands and prairielands give ample locations for above ground adventure and exploration as well.

Some possible adventure hooks set in Highcourt could include:

The PCs answer a summons by a high ranking noble that takes them to Highcourt in search of a slave who is really the son or daughter of the noble.
The PCs are framed in a crime they did not commit. To avoid the numerous Wanted posters throughout the countryside, they seek refuge in Highcourt only to discover that The Desire had framed them in the first place. She then blackmails the PCs into breaking the seal at the Palace and exploring the ruins within.
A small enclave of arcane scholars has gone missing in the ruins of the College of Witchcraft. The PCs accept a commission by The Desire to find her “friends”, only to discover that what she really wants the artifact the scholars were searching for in the first place: an ancient horn that could be used to return Mokosh Swamp back into a lake.
The royal court has issued a bounty for the arrest and capture of The Desire and the Mayor of Highcourt. The PCs travel to Highcourt in the hopes of defeating her only to find that she has fled into the ruins. Through careful exploration and diplomacy, the PCs must find The Desire and bring her before the royal court for trial.

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