EditVESHANDAEditCity of Wisdom- Tone: A city like a massive university populated by citizen-scholars, sages, and students.
- Timeframe: -3800 to present
- Artifice: High
- Region: Tears of Vrylakos
- Capital: Veshanda (~2,150,000)
- Notable Settlements: Vree (~300,000; rural / pastoral region)
- Government: Meritocratic Senate
- Ruler: Learned Sages of Veshanda
- Races: Human (80%), Merren (10%), Ælves (5%), Other (5%)
- Languages: Vrylakian
- Religions: Tearic Pantheon
- Coinage: Veshanda does not mint its own coins. However the Shard has numerous gem mines, and Veshanda uses a currency based on small polished gems. Drui (hexagonal ruby, 10gp), Femal (small emerald lozenge, 5gp), and Bylu (small triangular sapphire, 1gp). Low price transactions are conducted either in aggregation, by barter, or using foreign currency.
EditSynopsis
Veshanda is peopled with intelligentsia, the sagacious, and the astute. Even the common folk are given a basic education, and on the whole the city is a bastion of culture and learning. The famous Veshandic University and it’s equally famed Library are crucial elements of the city's history and power structure. The Archdean of the College and the Head Librarian hold prestigious positions on the city's ruling council, the Learned Sages of Veshanda.
One of the Nine, Veshanda is solidly in the middle of the pack in terms of its real power and influence. Though it has no standing military at all, the numerous magickers that call the city home is sufficient deterrent for most.
EditMagic
Magic has a major home in this city, with not one or two but three major institutions of learning.
The Urthonic College of Magick is a major part of the Veshandic University and produces graduates with a very well-rounded education, and a good grasp on the fundamentals of the magical arts.
The Wixor College of Esoteric Lore is an independent and respected school with a devoted alumni dedicated to the art of Winding; accepting only the most qualified applicants and teaching from a very well defined curriculum the school turns out highly polished graduates.
Finally, the Arazim Academy of Arcane Arts is an upstart but very highly regarded free-form "school" that focuses on individual talents and working at a personalized level; each attendee is considered to be a student-teacher responsible for becoming experts in topics of their choice and teaching others what they know of them.
- Winding: Winding is taught at the Urthonic College of Magick and the Arazim Academy, and is the only subject of instruction at the Wixor College.
- Crypticism: Crypticism is taught at the Arazim Academy.
- Alchemy: Alchemy is taught at the Urthonic College and Arazim Academy.
EditDetails
- Style of the Piercing Eye: In a city of such erudition, where thought is valued over action, one might think that the steel arts are neglected. Not so. Even among the dry and learned in the City of the Sages there are those who take up the blade, and the ancient Veshandi Piercing Eye style is the predominant blade school. It is marked for its penchant towards delaying actions during a studious analysis of ones opponent leading to an overwhelming offence. This Veshandi technique is more truly a counter-style than a style, as the practitioner seeks to analyze and then deconstruct their opponents techniques. The longer one fights against a Master of the Piercing Eye, the less likely ones odds of success.
- The Watchmen: Veshanda has a well-funded and well-trained city watch force called, appropriately enough, The Watchmen. Trained in the use of padded clubs and equipped with restraints, the Watchmen employ subdual options to arrest rather than slay when violence is necessary. There are also a handful of Inspectors responsible for investigating serious crimes. Thanks to the efforts of the Watchmen, Veshanda is a very safe and orderly place to live.
EditAdventure Seeds
- Academic Rivalry: The Chambers of Sanctuary hold themselves to be the ultimate in 'Tweener Academia, but some of the scholars of Veshanda don't necessarily agree with that viewpoint. Three professors of the University have founded an informal organization called the Sagacious Fellowship and are attempting to promote its growth, influence, and credibility. Their primary focus currently is on debunking anything originating from the Chambers of Sanctuary that they can, and to that ends they employ would-be explorers willing to visit far off places and gather independent research of a variety of subjects, from which rebuttals of Sanctuarian theories can be published. A number of students at the University benefit from Fellowship-funded scholarships by taking on such expeditions between semesters. However, sometimes students are not up to the dangers and the Fellowship commissions professionals...
EditGM's Notes
Veshanda is an ideal place to host many types of Vrylakian adventures. In many ways, Veshanda represents what is best about the Tears, and as the city hosts a famed University it is very open to people from other places coming to live for a handful of years. There are a lot of passenger vessels coming and going, rooms to be let, and staid neighborhood pubs suitable for drinks and strategy games abound. The government is not hostile, the crime rate is reasonably low, and people are generally friendly. However, the economy is slightly bloated; while its possible to live on the cheap (as evidenced by many students), comfortable living is a little more costly than in most places.
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