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  LANGUARD LOCATIONS: LOW CITY 
  Storied Languard— the capital of Ashlar and its greatest city—stands hard against Hard Bay’s turbulent, stormy waters. To the north lies 
  the Mottled Spire’s brooding spray-drenched mass, the curse-haunted ruins of Greystone and Gloamhold’s doom-wreathed halls. Ashlar’s 
  greatest—indeed only—city, Languard is a noisy, dirty place. Here, amid broad, muddy streets teeming with life and shadow-mantled, 
  danger-filled alleyways there is little beneath the sun that cannot be had somewhere—for a price. 
   
  Languard Locations: Low City presents nine additional locations designed for use with City Backdrop: Languard. While the locales within are 
  designed with Languard in mind, they are easily convertible for use in your campaign. This instalment deals with locations in one of 
  Languard’s districts. 
  Designed for use with any edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. 
   
  C R E D I T S  
  Design: Creighton Broadhurst, Jeff Gomez and Amber Underwood 
  Development: Creighton Broadhurst 
  Art: William McAusland. Some artwork copyright William 
  McAusland, used with permission. 
  Cartography: Tommi Salama 
  C O N T E N T S  
  Credits ..................................................................................... 1 
  Contents .................................................................................. 1 
  System Neutral Edition ............................................................. 1 
  The Low City............................................................................. 2 
  Low City Locations ................................................................ 2 
  L4: Arlo’s Stones ................................................................... 3 
  L5: The Mixing Pot ................................................................ 3 
  L6: The Orc’s Head ................................................................ 4 
  L7: Laukkanen’s Collectors .................................................... 6 
  L8: Marja’s House of Sighs .................................................... 6 
  L9: Hannu’s House of Healing ................................................ 7 
  L10: The Last Chance ............................................................ 7 
  L11: Sentinel Apartments ...................................................... 8 
  L12: The White Tower ........................................................... 8 
  Dragon and the Thief ................................................................ 9 
   
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  S Y S T E M  N E U T R A L  E D I T I O N  
  Welcome to this Raging Swan Press System Neutral Edition Village 
  Backdrop. Herein you’ll find evocative, inspiring text designed to 
  help you—the busy GM—run better, quicker and easier games.  
   
  This book is compatible with most fantasy roleplaying games. 
  It’s impossible to create a truly system neutral book, though, and 
  some generic game terms—wizard, fighter, human, elf and so 
  on—lurk within. These generic terms are easily modified to the 
  GM’s system of choice.  
   
  One special note about the NPCs in this supplement. While 
  some are wizards, fighters, clerics and so on, others are simply 
  normal folk. Because different game systems handle normal folk 
  differently we’ve made no attempt to note their “class” leaving 
  them simply as “female human” and so on.    
   
  The moral right of Creighton Broadhurst, Jeff Gomez and Amber 
  Underwood to be identified as the authors of this work has been 
  asserted in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents 
  Act 1988.  
   
  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, 
  stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any 
  means, without the prior permission in writing of Raging Swan 
  Press or as expressly permitted by law. 
   
  ©Raging Swan Press 2018. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  2 
  T H E  L O W  C I T Y  
  The name given to the bulk of Languard sprawling to the south of 
  the Svart, the Low City is home to most of the city’s populace. Also 
  comprising the Shambles, Fishshambles and the Wrecks, the Low 
  City is named both for its position below the High City and for the 
  low-born status of most of the folk dwelling therein. 
  L O W  C I T Y  L O C A T I O N S  
  G1 Low Gate1: Low Gate is always busy, choked with a multitude 
  of carts piled high with trade goods. 
  G3 Traitor’s Gate1: “Decorated” with the remains of traitors to 
  the crown, Traitor’s Gate is well named. 
  L1 Low Market1: A bustling market fills this muddy space.  
  L2 Vonya’s Span1: Of dwarven craft—and reputedly haunted—
  Vonya’s Span is the only bridge spanning the Svart. 
  L3 The Scythe1: The one-legged Arvo Outila runs this drinking den 
  renown for live music. 
  L4 Arlo’s Stones: Sullen, and consumed with jealousy and anger 
  against anyone better off than himself, the jeweller Arlo 
  Itkonen is a sycophant and frustrated social climber. 
  L5 The Mixing Pot: Hidden in the basement of a nameless 
  tenement, rich brews are shared in merry (but odd) company. 
  L6 The Orc’s Head: Cut from a chunk of local limestone and set 
  above the tavern’s front door, the luridly carved face of an orc 
  identifies this place as the infamous Orc’s Head. 
  L7 Laukkanen’s Collectors: Raimo Laukkanen is ostensibly a 
  dealer in manure—his four carts trundle about Languard day 
  and night collecting the leavings of horses, residents’ night 
  soil and other foul things—but not all as it first seems.  
  L8 Marja’s House of Sighs: Famed through the city—and also 
  known as the Moaning Halls—for the pleasures to be had 
  under its roof, Marja’s House of Sighs is a popular destination 
  for those seeking respite from the day’s travails.  
  L9 Hannu’s House of Healing: Location trumps reputation, 
  particularly when most clients are from out of town. Hannu’s 
  House of Healing is one of the first buildings inside the 
  Traitor’s Gate, and it advertises well. 
  L10 The Last Chance: In sight of the corpses swinging from the 
  Traitor's Gate crouches a tavern with a deep, shadowy porch 
  furnished with scarred tables and a sign bearing a grinning 
  skull with a die between its teeth. 
  L11 Sentinel Apartments: A series of small, semi-uniform houses 
  line a small cobblestone street that leads to a tall tenement 
  building. 
  L12 The White Tower: Here dwell the Esoteric Fellowship—a rival 
  wizards’ guild to the Sagacious Masters of the Eldritch Nexus. 
  T1 Fane of the Waves Eternal1: Here Serat’s worshippers 
  commune with the ocean’s eternal glory. 
  1: See City Backdrop: Languard, for more information. 
  
  3 
  L 4 :  A R L O ’ S  S T O N E S  
  Sullen, and consumed with jealousy and anger against anyone 
  better off than himself, the jeweller Arlo Itkonen is a sycophant 
  and frustrated social climber. A fixture of Low City, his heavily 
  fortified shop is often sought out by adventurers selling their low-
  value loot. 
   
  Arlo’s Stones has been broken into repeatedly over the years. 
  Every new break-in spurs Arlo to invest in more and more 
  security. He constantly complains of the cost of maintaining “his 
  defences” and is perhaps one of the least trusting souls an 
  adventurer is ever likely to encounter.  
   
  Arlo’s shop is on the ground floor of an old, narrow building 
  overlooking Warrior’s Way. He has a heavily protected salesroom, 
  workshop and vault in the cellar. (Here also dwell his gnomish 
  workers). Arlo lives on the second floor of the building; the third 
  floor is empty and abandoned due to a roof that periodically leaks 
  (and which Arlo cannot afford to repair). 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  Arlo employs two gnomes—sisters—Leneal and Uranal to craft 
  the tawdry jewellery he sells to Low City’s denizens.  
  § 
  Arlo Itkonen (LN old male human): Bedevilled with delusions of 
  grandeur and angry at his lot in life, Arlo is a frustrated social 
  climber for folk of quality do not patronise his shop. He craves 
  the attentions of Languard’s great and good but instead must 
  make do with adventurers selling their loot and poor folk 
  difficult to separate from their scarce wealth.  
  § 
  Leneal Owaen (N female gnome thief 2): Leneal both crafts 
  jewellery and maintains the shop’s locks and other defences. 
  She is cheerful and loves city life—there is so much to see, do 
  and “acquire”. She doesn’t steal from Arlo, though, as she 
  knows it would anger Uranal. 
  § 
  Uranal Owaen (N female gnome illusionist 2): Bafflingly, Uranal 
  is in love with Arlo. A skilled gemcutter and jeweller, she could 
  easily set up in business on her own. She can’t be bothered with 
  the nitty-gritty of running a business, though, and is content 
  with her lot. 
  H O O K S  
  § 
  Adventurers off-loading loot discover Arlo drives a hard bargain 
  and isn’t interested in stones worth more than about 50 gp 
  (mainly because he won’t be able to sell them on).  
  § 
  The PCs witness Leneal committing a minor crime. If they follow 
  her, she unwittingly leads them back to the shop (which might 
  give the impression Arlo’s Stones is a thieves’ den).  
  L 5 :  T H E  M I X I N G  P O T  
  Hidden in the second basement of a nameless tenement, rich 
  brews are shared in merry (but unusual) company. Here, finely 
  dressed aristocrats rub shoulders with street urchins and scum. 
  This is the Mixing Pot, where social class and wealth do not apply. 
  While no self-respecting gentleman or lady would be seen in 
  these halls, many newly wealthy seek a return to their roots which 
  only the Mixing Pot can bring. 
  The Mixing Pot is dark, smoky and crowded, but the immense 
  tavern easily holds 200 people. For a venue of its size, however, it 
  is strangely quiet. Little rises above the low murmur of talk and 
  clatter of mugs. Loud entertainment would risk the clandestine 
  nature of the tavern. 
   
  To the discerning eye, details set the Mixing Pot apart from 
  taverns above. Unmarked paintings line the walls, recognizable as 
  masterpieces only to connoisseurs. The sconces are burnt silver 
  instead of copper. The glassware is actually fine crystal. The 
  wealth hidden in every corner thrills the rich and poor alike, and 
  only solidifies the aura of an exclusivity. 
  § 
  Food & Drink: hearty meal (eel and eggs, cheese [fondue], cow 
  ribs and bread) 1 gp, light meal (vegetables [fried] and chicken) 
  3 sp, thin ale 6 cp, wine (pitcher) or dark beer 3 sp. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
  Rikhard Laminen (N male human) is the head bartender. Once 
  a charismatic butler for a wealthy noble, Rikhard was promoted 
  to the Mixing Pot by a friend. 
  § 
  Joonas Filn (CN male human) worked his way up from 
  fisherman to owner of a small fleet of vessels. Though he lives 
  in High City, he cannot stand snobbery. 
  § 
  Emma Kurrti (LE female human thief 3) is in the profession of 
  bringing criminals together for certain jobs. She sits in the 
  corner, smoking a cigar and flanked by hired goons. 
  § 
  Irma “The Stink” (CN female human fighter 1) was never 
  supposed to be here. She wandered into the Mixing Pot on the 
  heels of a patron and hasn’t wandered out since. 
  H O O K S  
  § 
  A born and raised socialite with no ties to Low City wants in to 
  Low City’s most exclusive club. She’ll pay any price for 
  membership, even if nobody wants her there. 
  § 
  The identity of the Mixing Pot’s mysterious owner is a matter of 
  some conjecture among the regulars and is the subject of much 
  discussion in the taproom. 
   
   
  
  4 
  L 6 :  T H E  O R C ’ S  H E A D  
  Cut from a chunk of local limestone and set above the tavern’s 
  front door, the luridly carved face of an orc identifies this place as 
  the infamous Orc’s Head. Notorious throughout the duchy as the 
  haunt of adventurers preparing to dare Gloamhold’s depths, the 
  Orc’s Head is a place of tall tales and hard drinking. Decent folk 
  rarely venture inside.   
   
  The tavern’s proprietor, Einar Salonen, was once an 
  adventurer. A giant of a man standing almost 6 and a half feet tall, 
  Einar was a mighty warrior in his prime. Now inactivity and too 
  much drink have robbed him of his physique. He is still strong, 
  though, and it is a brave—or spectacularly drunk—customer who 
  risks his ire.   
   
  Within the Orc’s Head, the drink is cheap, the music loud and 
  the customers (often) drunk. It is a raucous place; brawls are not 
  uncommon. The Shadow Masks operate—cautiously—here but, 
  in the main, limit their activities to information gathering.  
   
  The Orc’s Head is an oddity in that its common room is in the 
  cellar. The first Orc’s Head burnt down mysteriously decades ago. 
  The owner—desperate to get back into business as quickly as 
  possible—converted the cellar into the common room and later—
  when funds allowed—rebuilt the rest of the inn. The common 
  room comprises four separate, snug and shadowy chambers 
  perfect for plotting and scheming.   
   
  Of the two above-ground floors, the ground floor is given over 
  to guests’ lodgings while Einar, his family and several servants 
  dwell on the upper level.   
   
  Einar stores his vitals and other supplies in a low structure 
  behind the main building where he also brews his own beer.  
  T A R I F F  
  § 
  Food & Drink: meal (cold sausages, hard cheese and bread) 3 
  sp, weak ale 6 cp, wine (pitcher) 3 sp. 
  § 
  Accommodation: Two-bed chamber 10 sp; four-bed chamber 
  20 sp; common room 2 sp. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
  H O O K S  
  § 
  Adventurers seeking to join or create an adventuring company 
  often visit the Orc’s Head. Adventurers seeking hirelings or 
  henchmen are also well advised to speak with Einar, who knows 
  many such folk. 
  § 
  A brawl breaks out. Soon, many customers are enthusiastically 
  participating. (The fracas is cover for a thief to steal a rival 
  party’s map of their recent Gloamhold exploration.) 
  § 
  Dragon and the Thief is a popular game at the Orc’s Head; 
  visiting adventurers can often get a game—several boards are 
  kept behind the bar. Such games are a good opportunity to 
  make new friends, hear rumours and try to discover what rival 
  bands of adventurers plan for their next foray into Gloamhold. 
  H O W  T O  P L A Y  D R A G O N  A N D  T H E  T H I E F  
  To play, Dragon and the Thief, each player needs two six-sided 
  dice. The game is best played with three or more players. 
   
  Start: Before play begins, the players must decide what 
  denomination of coin (copper, silver, gold or platinum) to wager. 
  All players start by placing a coin on the number 7.  
   
  Who Goes First: The players all roll their dice. The player with 
  the lowest score goes first. Thereafter, play passes to the left. 
   
  Playing: Each player rolls his dice. The result determines the 
  player’s action: 
  § 
  2 (The Thief): The player takes all the coins except those on 
  number seven (The Hoard).  
  § 
  3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 or 11: The player checks the number for a coin. 
  If a coin is there, the player takes it. If there is no coin the player 
  puts one down on that number. 
  § 
  4: The player does nothing. 
  § 
  7 (The Hoard): The player puts a new coin on that number.  
  § 
  12 (The Dragon): The player takes all the coins on the board. 
  Play continues as long as the participants want to play; players 
  can join or drop out at any time. 
   
  Einar Salonen (N middle-aged male human fighter 5): The 
  Orc’s Head’s proprietor is gregarious and welcoming. Relatively 
  lax in the running of his establishment he doesn’t much 
  mind the occasional brawl as long as no-one is seriously hurt 
  and nothing valuable is broken. He is popular with his 
  customers, but not beloved of the city watch who see the Orc’s 
  Head as a perennial trouble-spot.
  
  5 
   
   
  
  6 
  L 7 :  L A U K K A N E N ’ S  C O L L E C T O R S  
  Raimo Laukkanen is ostensibly a dealer in manure—his four carts 
  trundle about Languard day and night collecting the leavings of 
  horses, residents’ night soil and other foul things—but not all as 
  it first seems.  
   
  Raimo is also a prolific and skilled fence and smuggler with 
  extensive links to the Shadow Masks and a whole range of other 
  cads, scoundrels and brigands. His carts—piled high with manure, 
  night soil and other stinking rubbish—are an excellent means of 
  transporting illicit goods around the city. After all, who would 
  willingly search such a cart? 
   
  His workers—a dirty collection of foul-smelling, surly and 
  often shunned lot—are collectively known as “Raimo’s 
  Shovelers”.  
   
  Raimo owns a large building on Cross Street, which is the 
  centre of his illegal operation. A secretly excavated—and 
  extensive—hidden cellar holds the illicit goods under Raimo’s 
  protection and the Laukkanen family wealth. Additionally, several 
  small chambers serve as bedchambers (or perhaps holding 
  cells)—all have stout, lockable doors.  
   
  Raimo also owns walled compounds without the city walls 
  near both Low Gate and Traitor’s Gate; here he sells the legal 
  proceeds of this trade to farmers and the like and sometimes 
  passes smuggled goods to his contacts. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
  Raimo Laukkanen (NE old male human thief 3): This gnarled, 
  hirsute old man is utterly without scruples. He’ll transport 
  anything in his carts, if the price is right. Crippled in a carting 
  accident decades ago, Raimo is never without his heavy cane of 
  polished mahogany—which he adeptly uses as a weapon, if the 
  need arises.  
  § 
  Terhi Laukkanen (NE female human fighter 2/thief 1): Raimo’s 
  granddaughter, and the only one of his progeny with the 
  necessary morals to work in the family business, Terhi is at 
  home among the filth and squalor. Coarse of mouth, muscular 
  and often coated in grime and muck she is sometimes mistaken 
  for a man. She has her revenge—a savage beating or maliciously 
  placed pile of manure—against such folk.  
  H O O K S  
  § 
  One of Raimo’s carts has lost a wheel. Manure and other foul 
  things have tipped onto the street. The two men are working 
  hard to fix the wheel and clean up the mess. As a watch patrol 
  approaches, their efforts reach almost (suspiciously) frantic 
  levels. 
  L 8 :  M A R J A ’ S  H O U S E  O F  S I G H S  
  Famed through the city—and also known as the Moaning Halls—
  for the pleasures to be had under its roof, Marja’s House of Sighs 
  is a popular destination for those seeking respite from the day’s 
  travails.  
   
  Comprising the entirety of a three-storey tenement building 
  overlooking one of the many small lanes leading north from 
  Warrior’s Way it is gaudily decorated with—now faded—semi-
  lurid murals. The paintings leave no doubt as to the services 
  offered within. Marja lives in a personal apartment on the top 
  floor while the ground floor is given over to a series of lounges, 
  bars and snugs. The middle floor comprises a maze of small 
  passages and rooms decorated in a variety of styles and themes. 
  Much of the Moaning Halls’ business is conducted, here. 
   
  Marja employs a multitude of street urchins and street people 
  to guide—or perhaps lure—customers to her door. Thus, those 
  obviously with coin—and everyone assumes adventurers have 
  gold to spare—are accosted by a succession of street folk when 
  they are in the Moaning Hall’s general vicinity.  
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
  Marja Sianio (N female half-elf magic-user 2/thief 3): Marja 
  knows many of Languard’s residents—she has a prodigious 
  memory—but few people know the real Marja. Secretly the 
  bastard offspring of a minor member of the Nenonen family, 
  she masquerades as a human but is well aware of her true 
  heritage. Her staff are loyal and she—in turn—zealously 
  watches out for their wellbeing. Rumours abound that Marja 
  knows many embarrassing secrets about her customers.  
  H O O K S  
  § 
  The PCs seek some local expert, merchant or suchlike. Enquiries 
  lead them to the House of Sighs where the man is believed to 
  be “resting”. Of course, Marja is delighted at the arrival of a 
  group of wealthy adventurers and does her utmost to entice 
  them into availing themselves of the house’s services. 
  § 
  The PCs befriend (perhaps in a nearby tavern) Aila Keto (CN 
  female human), one of Marja’s staff. They subsequently see her 
  being harassed by a man swathed in a voluminous cloak. If they 
  intervene they earn her thanks and the ire on the man Einar 
  Rantanen (NE middle-aged male human)—a wealthy craftsmen, 
  skilled in holding grudges, who does his best to bad mouth Aila’s 
  rescuers.  
   
   
  
  7 
  L 9 :  H A N N U ’ S  H O U S E  O F  H E A L I N G  
  Location trumps reputation, particularly when most clients are 
  from out of town. Hannu’s House of Healing is one of the first 
  buildings inside the Traitor’s Gate, and it advertises well. 
  Wounded visitors see the giant sign and stumble through the door 
  in need of medical attention. Hannu himself is a charlatan of 
  middling skill who overcharges for even the simplest procedures. 
  If he has to amputate a hand, there’s a good chance he’ll keep the 
  rings. If he sees rings, there’s a good chance he’ll amputate the 
  hand. 
   
  Waiting Room: A hanging wooden alembic directs passers-by 
  to the waiting room, a small, relatively clean space with half a 
  dozen wooden chairs. In these cramped quarters, customers wait 
  to be treated.  
   
  Operation Room: Compared to the waiting room, the 
  operation room is filthy. A wooden platform serves as an 
  operation table, stained red and black from thousands of previous 
  procedures. Rusty scalpels, chipped scissors and recycled 
  bandages sit in heaps or in dirty jars around the room. One scent 
  rises above all others—Dreamweed, which Hannu uses to induce 
  sleep in nearly all his patients. While the patients are insensate, 
  he rifles through their gear. 
   
  Recovery Room: Upstairs, a dozen thin beds line the walls. 
  Here, patients sleep off the Dreamweed and recover from 
  particularly traumatic surgeries. The recovery room also doubles 
  as an inn when business is slow. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
  Hannu (CE male human thief 4) is himself a traveller from the 
  south, come to Languard when he was young. He apprenticed 
  briefly with an alchemist until the healer’s untimely death, and 
  then went into business for himself (his almost total lack of 
  formal training seemingly no impediment to his business). 
  § 
  Reeta (CE female human fighter 2) is Hannu’s nurse, and stands 
  a head above all but the tallest man. She is a giant of a woman, 
  broad and busty, with far too much makeup, a booming voice 
  and a bizarre garbled accent. 
  H O O K S  
  § 
  A wealthy traveller visited Hannu, but walked away without his 
  family ring. Hannu denies he ever saw the jewellery, but the 
  visitor is adamant. 
  § 
  An adventurer returned from Gloamhold did not survive 
  Hannu’s administrations. However, her journal is full of notes 
  on the dungeon. Hannu is willing to sell it for a favour. 
  L 1 0 :  T H E  L A S T  C H A N C E  
  In sight of the corpses swinging from the Traitor's Gate crouches 
  a tavern with a deep, shadowy porch furnished with scarred 
  tables and a sign bearing a grinning skull with a die between its 
  teeth. The owner is Jyry, a thrifty businessman who cultivates the 
  tavern's grim atmosphere. He starts macabre wagers about 
  executions, discusses bounties with his regulars and supplies 
  human knucklebones for games. 
  The interior is a single-room floor lit only with flickering 
  candles and the hearth fire behind the bar. Patrons cluster around 
  these points of light, forming insular groups that laugh at private 
  jokes and make bets as the staff offer odds on all aspects of 
  upcoming executions and punishments. No one sits at the bar at 
  the tavern's far end as its counter is reserved for food 
  preparation. Behind the bar, a hatch leads to the basement, 
  where Jyry stores food, racks his alcohol and has his personal 
  room.  
  T A R I F F  
  § 
  Drink: fermented milk (flagon) 6 cp, mead (flagon) 1 sp. 
  § 
  Food: cabbage rolls with mashed turnips 1 sp, blood dumpling 
  soup with fried mushrooms 3 sp. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  Bounty hunters and off-duty watchmen are common among the 
  patrons, making the Last Chance a surprisingly honest 
  establishment. 
  § 
  Impi Jyrentytär (N female half-elf thief 1) Last Chance's gloomy 
  barmaid dresses all in black and entertains customers with her 
  dry wit. A former street urchin who got her job out of pity, she 
  has a good eye for trouble and a steady work ethic. 
  § 
  Jyry Mustonen (N middle-aged male human) Jyry was once a 
  brewer of middling skill but has a knack for business that earned 
  him enough money to establish the Last Chance. He still brews 
  but focuses more on management these days. 
  § 
  Ruska Isotalo (LN female human ranger 3) Bald, towering and 
  covered in tattoos, Ruska is a bounty hunter infamous for brutal 
  methods that carefully toe the line of the law. The Last Chance 
  is her second home, and her tendency to help staff and buy 
  rounds has earned her goodwill. She loves her work and laughs 
  loud at the grim jokes. 
  H O O K S  
  § 
  A list of wanted criminals and their bounties is kept behind the 
  bar for Jyry's wagers. Impi points out a bounty to the PCs, 
  hoping they'll collect quickly to win her a bet. 
  
  8 
  L 1 1 :  S E N T I N E L  A P A R T M E N T S  
  A series of small, semi-uniform houses line a small cobblestone 
  street that leads to a tall tenement building. All the buildings on 
  the street are a part of Sentinel Apartments and are rented out to 
  an eclectic assortment of travellers, adventurers and city folk. 
  Though the rooms are mediocre and sparsely furnished, rates are 
  cheap and the tenants are free to leave and rent erratically. 
  Adventurers often choose to hole up in one of the apartments 
  while they plan expeditions into Gloamhold, giving them plenty of 
  time to gather the equipment and support they need. 
  T A R I F F  
  § 
  Accommodation (per month): one-room tenement apartment 
  5 gp; two-room tenement apartment 10 gp; house 15 gp. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  Most of the apartment's tenants are regular travellers or 
  merchants staying for a while in the capital. A few, however, are 
  notable. 
  § 
  Ensio Meri (CN male human thief 1) Though homely, Ensio's 
  affability and melodious voice make him popular in Languard. 
  He is an incurable gossip and an invaluable source of politics and 
  current events. He makes regular circuits of the Duchy and sings 
  in countless taverns, but he rents a house in the apartments 
  when he isn't travelling.  
  § 
  Kaste (NG female human ex-paladin 6) About a year ago, Kaste 
  arrived in Languard. She has few friends, lives in the cheapest 
  tenement room and toils ceaselessly. Kaste was once a paladin 
  but fell from grace when she took justice into her own hands, a 
  deed for which she hates herself. She never speaks about her 
  past, but still owns and treasures a sacred sword (about which 
  rumours are beginning to circulate). 
  § 
  Valio Oiva (CE male dwarf thief 2) Valio claims to be an 
  experienced adventurer 
  with extensive 
  knowledge of 
  Gloamhold. In truth he is a coward who rarely ventures far in, 
  but he knows how to navigate a few dangerous spots. He 
  regularly comes to check these locations for dead explorers that 
  he can loot for valuables. 
  H O O K S  
  § 
  Valio eagerly offers to guide the PCs into Gloamhold, but 
  purposefully leads them into danger. He looks for any 
  opportunity to get them in over their heads so he can scavenge 
  their bodies. 
  § 
  Some information is dangerous, but Ensio simply can't resist 
  learning juicy secrets. The Shadow Masks are looking to silence 
  him, and Ensio is desperate for protection. He would make a 
  very grateful contact in Languard. 
  L 1 2 :  T H E  W H I T E  T O W E R  
  The White Tower is the fortress of the Esoteric Fellowship and 
  where they store their trove of lore and mysticism. They stand in 
  opposition to the Sagacious Masters of the Eldritch Nexus, 
  decrying them as elitist and narrow-minded. However, the White 
  Tower and the Fellowship are far less glamorous than they 
  portray themselves. Their 'tower' is an unremarkable two-storey 
  building on Warrior's Way, and most of their members possess 
  little magical skill or talent. 
  Chamber of Gates: Just beyond the entrance is the 
  Fellowship's meeting area, a room filled with cushioned chairs, 
  thick rugs and a massive round table painted with fanciful 
  archways. Emerald fire crackles at the hearth, incense burns in 
  candle holders and shelves filled with knick-knacks line the walls. 
  Dawn Archive: All of the second floor is dedicated to a 
  haphazard library and museum. Bookshelves, cupboards and 
  scroll-racks clutter the space in uneven rows. There is very little 
  of worth in the collections: the books are elementary or 
  inaccurate, 
  the 
  scrolls 
  merely 
  illustrations 
  of 
  somatic 
  components, and the cupboards filled with depleted wands and 
  broken trinkets. 
  House of Air: A ladder on the second floor leads to the tower’s 
  open, flat stone roof. An elaborately painted magic circle 
  decorates its surface, and a few holes allow for curtains or 
  canopies to be erected around it. The Fellowship stages dramatic 
  ceremonies and rituals here when the mood strikes them. 
  N O T A B L E  F O L K  
  § 
  Magister of Tongues (NE male elf magic-user 3) Grand and 
  handsome, the Magister is the Esoteric Fellowship’s guiding 
  force, though he pretends all members are equal. He is hungry 
  for magic but lacks the skill to join the Sagacious Masters, so he 
  has gathered their leavings and gullible apprentices to build up 
  a powerbase. 
  § 
  Other members include Master Ichor (CN male human magic-
  user 1) the fellowship's alchemist who is more skilled with 
  poison than magic, the Visionary (N female human magic-user 
  1) a talented artist who made the Fellowship's paintings and the 
  Keeper of Wisdom (N female human cleric 1) who is attempting 
  to master arcane and divine magic.   
  H O O K S  
  § 
  The Esoteric Fellowship eagerly recruits spellcasters and is in 
  awe of anyone with even a little skill beyond the basics. 
  Magister tries to persuade spellcasting PCs to join and share 
  their knowledge and resources. 
   
   
  
   
  9 
  D R A G O N  A N D  T H E  T H I E F  
   
  The Dragon and the Thief is a free download from the Raging Swan Press Shop. 
   
  Includes two versions of the game board ready to print for use at the game table! 
   
  Download your copy today! 
   
  O GL  V 1. 0A  
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of 
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  Open Game License v1.0a. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast Inc. 
   
  System Reference Document: ©2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Authors: Jonathan Tweet, 
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
   
  Gloamhold Campaign Guide. ©Raging Swan Press 2017; Author: Creighton Broadhurst. 
   
  City Backdrop: Languard. ©Raging Swan Press 2017; Author: Creighton Broadhurst. 
   
  Languard Locations: Low City. ©Raging Swan Press 2018; Author: Creighton Broadhurst, Jeff 
  Gomez and Amber Underwood. 
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