Wandering the South Mercantile District

[Albert B. Rampage]

Amstaad Mercantile Districts

South Mercantile District

History

The South Mercantile District developed over many years, beginning near the end of the Passani occupation. The city slowly spilt over the walls, first houses for the townspeople who worked in the neighboring fields and forests, then markets and other necessities to support these budding communities. In general, the Tiktuk stayed in the Old City closer to the water, so Passani almost exclusively populated the areas outside the walls. A Towards the beginning of the Briaf occupation a call for Tiktuk goods brought a few Tiktuk merchants to this district, the only place to get Tiktuk goods outside the Old City.

The coming of the Briaf prompted a surge of foreign goods and buyers. As development of the districts outside of the Old City flourished, the Briaf began planning thriving marketplaces with easy paths to warehouses in and around the docks. More Tiktuk merchants from the Old City quickly moved to larger and more popular areas outside of the walls, and the South Mercantile District as we know it today was born. The South Mercantile District caters to mostly Tiktuk craftsmen, storekeepers and rich Pasani merchants. It should be noted that this is the most patrolled district in the city, due to the number of goods to protect. There are rumors of necromancers and demon summoners hiding in secret cabals that meet under certain pastiche shops.

Layout and Architecture

The South Mercantile District is comprised almost entirely of two-story Passani dwellings turned storefronts, and larger open-air marketplaces orbit around gargantuan halls that serve as headquarters for the different factions that dominate this district. As the Briaf developed the area, many Passani turned their ground floors into shops in which to sell the goods they produced outside of the city. Entire streets of residences effectively turned into sprawling marketplaces, which were frequented not only by the inhabitants of the South Mercantile District, but visitors from the Old City as well. Prosperous merchants from the old city would also purchase houses for the purpose of setting up shop in these impromptu shopping-havens. As poorer merchants gave up their houses and were forced to move even further away from the Old City, central squares in the Mercantile District developed into open-air bazaars, where foot traffic was high and costs could be kept low. Some merchants set up stands, while others simply sat down on rugs and laid out their wares. Today, these bazaars are home to a myriad of exotic goods, a heaven for the bargain shopper and trinket collector. The parts of The South Mercantile District closest to the Old City are distinctly Passari in architecture but as you edge outwards into the bazaars Briaf and Tiktuk organization is more commonly seen.

With the wealth of magical items offered around every corner of the southern mercantile district, wizards, warlocks and other spellcasters began migrating to the region and setting up base in the area. These sorcerers have recently formed a mage's guild in one of the larger halls that are set up in the South Mercantile District. These guild halls are large stone-walled strongholds, often accompanied by their own courtyards. Upkeep is costly, so much that the interiors of these virtual fortresses are often empty of furniture. The only exception to this is the richly furnished merchant's guild.

Due to the heavy security measures the Merchant's Guild has taken, it has become increasingly difficult to cross the border between the South Commoner's and the South Mercantile districts without the proper paperwork.

Notable Locations

The Mages' Guild Hall

: The wizards offer training and counseling here. They also provide haven for independent travelling mages, and the place offers numerous guest rooms for reputed wizards.

The Merchants' Guild Hall

: The largest and most well protected of all the halls. Little is known about the hierarchy and social standings of the actual members of the Merchant's Guild, as they often communicate by the use of mediators or couriers. Only the richest merchants own offices inside these walls, and no one is allowed to enter without a certain ranking in the merchant community.

The Arcane Library

: This monument is so big it could be considered as a hall in and of itself. The mages that own the library are struggling to keep it from greedy merchants that want to purchase and sell its contents for maximum profit. Upkeep has became so expensive that they recently had to install an entry fee, an extra commission to borrow a book, as well as a membership token to enter certain sections of the library.

The Reformed Barracks

: The South Mercantile District used to be crawling with thieves until the Merchants' Guild privatized the Barracks and provided most of the security for their own district in return of lowered taxes in an arrangement with the government a decade ago. Mercenaries and local fighters are paid to be trained here by the merchants, who then hire mediators to negotiate job opportunities for them in the various parts of the district.

The Auction House

: Also controlled by the Merchant's guild. You can bid on rare items here if you can pay for the entry or have the right connections.

[Albert B. Rampage]

I thought I'd make the first post with the actual history, layout, etc. but I'm keeping the other posts as a point of reference:

Amstaad Mercantile Districts

South Mercantile District

History

The South Mercantile District developed over many years, beginning near the end of the Passari occupation. The city slowly spilt over the walls, first houses for the townspeople who worked in the neighboring fields and forests, then markets and other necessities to support these budding communities. In general, the Tiktuk stayed in the Old City closer to the water, so Passari almost exclusively populated the areas outside the walls. A Towards the beginning of the Briaf occupation a call for Tiktuk goods brought a few Tiktuk merchants to this district, the only place to get Tiktuk goods outside the Old City.

The coming of the Briaf prompted a surge of foreign goods and buyers. As development of the districts outside of the Old City flourished, the Briaf began planning thriving marketplaces with easy paths to warehouses in and around the docks. More Tiktuk merchants from the Old City quickly moved to larger and more popular areas outside of the walls, and the South Mercantile District as we know it today was born. The South Mercantile District caters to mostly Passari and Tiktuk.

Layout and Architecture

The South Mercantile District is comprised almost entirely of two-story Passari dwellings turned storefronts, and larger open-air marketplaces in the more central locations. As the Briaf developed the area, many Passari turned their ground floors into shops in which to sell the goods they produced outside of the city. Entire streets of residences effectively turned into marketplaces, which were frequented not only by the inhabitants of the South Mercantile District, but visitors from the Old City as well. Businesses (especially prosperous Old City merchants) would also purchase houses for the purpose of setting up shop in these impromptu shopping-havens. As poorer merchants gave up their houses and were forced to move even further away from the Old City, central squares in the Mercantile District developed into open-air bazaars, where foot traffic was high and costs could be kept low. Some merchants set up stands, while others simply sat down on rugs and laid out their wares. Today, these bazaars are home to a myriad of exotic goods, a heaven for the bargain shopper and trinket collector. The parts of The South Mercantile District closest to the Old City are distinctly Passari in architecture but as you edge outwards into the bazaars Briaf and Tiktuk organization is more commonly seen.

Off the main roads, the development of the area into a vibrant trading point prompted people of many trades and skills to move into the area and open up businesses of a different variety. Experts in the art of swordsmanship, archery, martial arts and other weapon styles set up training halls to ready potential disciples for war. Wizards, warlocks and other magicians began offering instruction in the use of powerful spells and magical items in their houses of magick. The South Mercantile District is home to hundreds of people skilled in some art that are quite willing to pass on their knowledge... for a price.

Finally, with the growing popularity of these training schools came the desire for common halls for apprentices and masters of certain trades. In recent years, Guildhalls have begun occupying one, two, or sometimes three successive dwellings, creating impressive fronts for passersby, and closely knit-communities for those frequenting the halls. Some of the more prosperous Guilds have constructed additions to create even larger halls to encourage prospective members to join. These massive Guildhalls are easily the largest and most impressive buildings in the South Mercantile District.

I mostly used cuban smoker's Wandering the South Mercantile Disrict because it would allow me to make a foil of the North Mercantile district. I changed some of the wording and added a small element.

A few major and minor things:

1 -- Midway through the original description of the Old City, the spelling spontaneously changed from "Passari" to "Passani". I corrected things to the latter spelling there, but only after I discovered the problem months later. This is why the spelling in CS's original description doesn't match up with the current spelling. Completely my mistake.

2 -- While Dourgrim's inspiration was European fantasy, when I was given the Old City I spun my area in a different direction (my concept of an old city was more like Fez, Morocco than Vienna). In doing this, I was very careful to write up the history of the Old City in such a way that it could be largely ignored by the other mods -- it doesn't in any way constrain others to do anything other than European fantasy. I think others felt that they had to fit into the context I had created, when the reality is that they don't. Which is not to say that using things from the Old City is wrong or undesirable, but it also isn't even remotely a requirement for other areas. You should feel free to write the Tiktuk and Passani out completely if you wish.

That said, if you want to use them a few little points will help:

Tiktuk are sort of like an African fishing tribe. Think more like an indiginous group for inspiration.

Passani are inspired by Morocco/Berbers. So twisting streets, Muslim ornate architecture in a land that's no longer Muslim. Sort of like Zaragoza, Spain if more than the buildings remained.

Briaf are your normal fantasy idea -- humans, elves, dwarves, and so forth.

Note also that there are two Tiktuk markets already in the Old City. Anything outside the Old City started after the Briaf moved in. So the city planning outside the Old City, at least, is likely to be European-style. The question is more along the lines of how much of a Spanish twist there should be. (I believe I responded in this way to CS as well.)

3 -- With history up, the next step would be a bunch of notable locations you'd want anyone visiting the city to be aware of in your area.

4 -- Prominent guilds should probably be included as notable locations, but this opens up the question of how we want to deal with guilds, especially since there will be some in most districts. Do we want an exhaustive list? Is it better to just set up a bunch of important ones and roll with whatever comes up? What happens if players want to set up their own guild?