Welcome to Consul's Landing
Consul's Landing is a marvel of dwarven stonework and gnomish engineering built directly into a sheer cliff face known as the Great Ascent. This vertical metropolis serves as a sanctuary from "The Wasting," a mysterious environmental decay that forces life to cluster within urban centers.
The Three Tiers
The High District
The opulent, elitist apex of the city where the air is clean. It is ruled by the High Council -- an alliance of powerful families and guild leaders who founded the city centuries ago and remain largely disconnected from the grim reality below.
The Mid-Levels (The Craftsman's Quarter)
The industrial heart of the city. A place of constant steam, forges, and gear-works. Many laborers here are "Augmented" -- citizens who have been fitted with mechanical scrap limbs by the Engineers Guild to keep them working after severe industrial accidents or past wartime injuries.
The Undercity (The Non-Jurisdiction)
A dark, lawless labyrinth of decommissioned plumbing and hidden warrens. The Undercity has no political representation and is officially ignored by the Council, allowing ruthless criminal syndicates to thrive in the shadows and control the flow of black-market goods.
The Wastelands and the Borders
Outside the city lies the Scrapped Kingdom, a bleak wasteland of craters and "Scrap-Hills" left over from a massive civil war. The land is further plagued by the "Burning Roots," a toxic ecological crisis caused by poisonous runoff leaking from the city's industrial siphons. The treacherous mountain passes surrounding the city act as a literal wall between Consul's Landing and the dread of the greater wastelands, inhabited only by fierce tribal factions like the Dragonborne and bands of territorial goblins.
A History of Ruin
The modern era is defined by two major catastrophes that occurred 200 years ago:
Maliki's War
A genius gnome inventor and necromancer named Maliki attempted to "cleanse" the world of inefficient biological life. He waged a brutal, 200-year civil war using legions of mechanical constructs. He was eventually driven back to the river and defeated by the alliance of families that would become the High Council.
The Dwarven Fall
Concurrently, the Dwarven King Bilfur went insane and attacked Glaurung, the Father of Dragons. This catastrophic act triggered the collapse of the deep mines and the destruction of the old Dwarven city.
Everyday Life and Technology
To maintain its infrastructure and protect its citizens, the city relies heavily on mechanical constructs. These machines are strictly regulated by the Engineers Guild and are powered by heavily guarded, highly efficient "Arcane Batteries." Without these constructs, the city's industry would grind to an immediate halt.
The Current State of Affairs
As newcomers to Consul's Landing, you find a city on the brink. The High Council remains obsessed with their family legacies and political monopolies. Meanwhile, down in the smog-choked Mid-Levels and the damp Undercity, tensions are boiling over. Whispers in the taverns suggest that the local crime syndicates are preparing for a massive turf war, disappearances in the slums are becoming more frequent, and the decaying foundation of the city is beginning to literally crack under the pressure. Trust is a rare commodity, and survival often means navigating a dangerous web of corrupt merchants, desperate laborers, and ruthless mob bosses.
Geography of the Warrens
The warrens are the transition point between the city's plumbing and the deep mountain passes. The Mountain Passes are guarded by the Dragonborne Enclave and the Dust-Skulkers -- this is the literal wall between the city and the greater wastelands.