Highport

Overview

• Country: Located in::Orcish Empire
• Leader: Count Kertek Bilarro
• Population: Population::30000

'Note: Much of the material on this pageis taken from TSR 11621: Slavers, released in 2000. Our campaign's timeline differs in significant ways from that source book, but much of Highport remains the same.'

The largest humanoid city on The Pomarj, located on the northern side of the peninsula on the shores of the Wooley Bay. It is part of the Orcish Empire, and is known to have a large contingent of Uruk Hai (high orcs) as well as representatives of almost every other humanoid race. In spite of this, it retains a a sizable human population, largely due to the pirate, smuggling and slaving activities that are still common in the city.

History

Highport was ruled for centuries by Count Kevram Bilarro, a powerful wizard who extended his life through the prodigious use of 'potions of longevity'. Unfortunately, one such draught malfunctioned, and instead of gaining another 10 years of life, he instantly lost a hundred.

He died instantly and with no heir, throwing the entire city into chaos. This ended when a distant relative named Kern Bilarro -- a nephew several times removed who also happened to be a Wild Coast warlord of considerably strength -- brought his men to the city and seized the Lord's Palace for himself.

He ruled until the city was invaded by the orcs in CY 513, burning and looting their way through the city in an event that came to be known as the Night of the Bloody Spear by the survivors.

In the decades that followed, the city was ruled by an uneasy coalition of humanoid tribes. Humans -- typically the most evil scum ever to sail the Azure Sea -- began to return as well, with the bravest and strongest pirates using it as a port. A handful of tradesmen followed, and in time a sense of normalcy returned to the city.

Leadership

Kertek Bilarro

In the CY 560s the Bilarro family returned to the city in the form of the charismatic Kertek Bilarro (Hum, Rog 6/Ari 2), who was able to swindle his way back into the position of count by deftly playing the humanoid tribes against each other, gifting them with treasure and weapons, and generally succeeding through deception and gile where his ancestors had failed through magic and force of arms.

He was able to do quite well for himself, negotiating successful treaties with powerful pirates, humanoid tribes, and even the notorious Slave Lords themselves (which in turn made the city a center of the lucrative slave trade).

This state of affairs survived the fall of the Slave Lords (though the Slave Market itself became far less trafficked with the defeat of the lords at the hands of the Invincibles Guild in the CY 570s) and lasted until the Rise of Turrosh Mak. Seeing an opponent that he couldn't possibly defeat on the battlefield, and who was far too canny to trick, Kertek decided to do what he does best: negotiate.

He established a deal that kept him in nominal control of the city, while simultaneously allowing legions of Mak's disciplined orcs into the city. A strict order the city hadn't known in centuries was soon established.

General Braks

The reason for this sudden order was two fold. For one, the military commander of the city -- a brutal half-orc known as General Braks (Half-Orc, Ftr 8) instituted the Killing Way, a stretch of the old Slave Road running up to the Drachensgrabs on which he crucifies all who dare break the law of Mak.

Brother Nofosh

The other major factor was the rise of the Faith of the Earth Dragon. While the myriad humanoid species in the city still worshiped their own gods, they also began to praise the destruction and strength aspects of the Earth Dragon. At the same time, humans and near-humans in the city also began to venerate the primal god, worshipping it's earth and productive aspects. This faith has served to bind the city together, and prevent major fights from breaking out among its adherents.

The leader of the Temple of the Earth Dragon in the city -- the half orc Nofosh (Half-Orc, Clr 9) wields considerable power in the city, and is crucial for

Tanva the Gold

Tanva the Gold (female elf, Wiz/Enc 8) completes the triumverate of Mak agents in the city. She long ago assumed leadership of The Illumination, a cadre of half-insane wizards hellbent on creating ever more powerful (and ever more strange) magic items, encouraging them to create weapons for the Empire of Mak. She is typically found at the Lord's Palace serving as an "advisor" for Kertek Bilarro.

The City

City Overview

Highport is a dark, dirty city firmly in the grip of evil, but safe for those that don't appear weak. The humanoid districts within the city reek of filth, unwashed bodies, and rotting meat, with the human districts being in a somewhat more tolerable state. Some of the buildings still show burns and damage from the Night of the Bloody Spear, but most present at the time of the invasion of fallen down or been renovated by the new inhabitants.

Tent City

Some parts of the town are little more than open fields with large and small tents, where drunken sailors, poor mercenaries and outcasts of many races grab a few hours of sleep at any time of the day. A large area devoted to warehouses covers part of the shoreline, and the damaged city walls have been rebuilt.

Religion

The temple of the Earth Dragon is in a renovated temple of Xerbo that was looted and damaged during the sacking of the city. Other dark deities with temples here include Beltar (caves, pits, calice), Erythnul (hate, slaughter), Incabulos (plagues, famine, disasters), Hextor (war, discord, tyrany), Iuz, Mictlantecuhtli (Olman death god), Nerull (death, murder), Pyremius (poison, murder), the Cult of Vecna (destruction and evil secrets) and various humanoid goids.

Of course, not everyone in Highport is a monomaniacl cuththroat; many are merchants and other people (not necessarily humans) just looking to do businesses, and are just not concerned with the sort of person who pays them for their goods. A wide variety of shops, inns and taversn exist within Highport, serving the roug-and-tumble clientele and providing the basic services that are necessary to all: equipment, food, clothing and such.

Strange Allies

The city has some strange allies and unique vermin. A flock of harpies nests in a pair of unused watchtowers. They scout the near part of the bay in exchange for food and pretty trinkets. Some of the braver people in town have tamed giant weasels as pets or guard animals, while wild ones run free in the humanoid districts. A pair of mated hill giants hire themselves out to different groups as bodyguards or laborers and they compete for work with a single pack of trolls that live in town. An extended family of ogres works as a mercenary group (either on land or on a pirate ship) and the temple of Nerull has an agreement with a pack of ghouls that lives outside the city. Many parts of the town are prone to hordes of giant rats sweeping through the entire neighborhood, and casks of oil are kept ready for lighting to act as barricades for the rodents.

The local stirge population is significant, having grown fat feeding on the rats, but they themselves are a dangerous enough threat that the harpies have been hired to kill them off periodically (an effort that has had mixed results).

Guilds of Note

The city is home to a number of evil adventuring and mercenary guilds. The foremost of these are the Grey Renders, a union of necessity between about a half dozen smaller human guilds and cults from within Highport, which was founded to protect their interests within that city and the surrounding area.

Also notable are the Followers of the Skeletal Way, a fantatical group of warriors, mages and thieves who have pledged themselves to the service of Nerull and His agents on Oerth. They are known to serve the Cult of Death Undying, a Nerullite group based in the Obsidian Maze in the Drachensgrab Mountains.

City Gates

Unlike other walled cities its size, Highport has only one main entrance to the city: The Great Gate. There are two smaller side gates -- the Suss Gate and the Coast Gate -- but they are heavily fortified and closed to all but military traffic. This design, dictated by the original count of the city, was intended as a defense against the marauding humanoids of the peninsula. It has worked, but it has also created massive logisitical problems in the city.

On major trade days its not uncommon for traders trying to get into the city to be backed up for several miles along the Coast Road, the highway that runs from Highport to Blue. Before the Greyhawk Wars, Highport's rulers allowed only select individuals -- mostly fishermen and farmers -- to set up settlements outside of the city's fortification, but Turrosh Mak put an end to that practice for security reasons.

The Piers

The Piers is the collective term for the city's sprawling warehouse and shipping district. Most of its streets are cluttered, claustrophoic and generally unsettling for most people. Rangers especially despise the place.

Some of the buildings here are made from stone, but most are made from wood harvested from the surrounding woodlands. Exposure to the corrosive, ever-present sea air has ravaged many of the buildings to the point that most are near the point of collapse. That inevitible occurance has been postponed in many cases by the addition of new, but still inferior, wooden supports.

Bands of thieves, pirates and other cutthroats fill the Wharf like vile human rodents. Blood is spilled nightly in bar fights that can quickly grow to include more than 200 combatants.

About half of Highport's original piers are completely ruined. The local authorities have towed derelict ships into place on these pierces to use as additional storage space, as well as to confuse would-be attackers about which piers are actually viable. The remaining piers either survived the Night of the Blood Spear or have been rebuilt since that time. The piers are almost exclusively used for trade, with only one near the eastern part of town having facilities for making repairs. Ships are not build in Highport; rather most of the heavy ship-building is done at Elredd What passes for the city guard here -- the Count's Men -- rarely enter the Wharf, and when they do, it is usually to escort a particular cargo to some of the better warehousing facilites outside of the district.

Sites

This is a dynamic list of all the sites associated with this location. {{#ask:located in::Highport | ?Population | format=ul }}

Organizations

• Church of Hextor, Highport: Even in a city dominated by humanoids, the Church of Hextor is a force to be reckoned with.
• Illumination, The: About 15 mages belong to this reclusive, exclusive organization which serves as the city's Wizards Guild.
• Followers of the Skeletal Way: A fantatical group of warriors, mages and thieves who have pledged themselves to the service of Nerull and His agents on Oerth.
• Grey Renders Guild: An adventuring guild based in Highport with members of an evil and corrupt nature