Once Vandersil was a rich city. Too rich for it's own good. It was born when gold was struck in the Northern Polar Mountians. The gold ran out within a few years but veins of other minerals both common and rare were discovered. Coal, silver, star stones. The city grew rich through trade and the streets were paved with bronze, at least, in the richer areas of the city. And then it fell into captivity because it neglected it's defences...
The royal family, the Laritons, thought that the best way to rule was through keeping the people happy. Free education and health care were provided for most of the city residents and a proper sewage system was made. All of this came at a price and there was not enough money to pay for a large army.There were the Sheriffs to keep law and order and the Royal Housecarles to guard the mornach and his family, but that was all.
Queen Yocasta of Vallermore, urged on by her daughter,Princess Chrysta,noticed Vandersil's military weakness and the fact that the mines were outside the city walls and invaded it. Whilst the walls of the City of Bronze were strong, they were no use against a threat to destroy the mines and the farms by fire and by diverting the River Nine into them. Without the mines and the trade that they brought the city would fall into poverty. Without the farms the people would face starvation.
Queen Yocasta offered to make King Larition a Grand Duke of her Court with most of his powers intact if he surrendered and took his daughter Amber to stay for a year in Vallermoore. Reluctantly Lariton agreed and a garrison of Vallermoore troops moved into the city.
Lariton was later executed for trying to pass off his daughter as Princess Chrysta after the Princess committed suicide,although Amber escaped. After this the Vallermoore soldiers began looting the city. The taxes were tripled and the mines faced being drained of all the ore within them within a few years. The soldiers robbed the city treasury,and pulled up the bronze streets to ship back to Valermoore.
Resistance was met with torture and mass executions but this did not stop a secret group known as the "Home Army" from forming to fight for their city-state's freedom from Vallermoorian rule.
Plot hooks...
The PC's must rescue an important Home Army leader from the city prison.
The PC's meet Amber and must help her to organisize resistence and spark off a rebellion.
The PC's are hired by the Vallermoore secret police to infiltrate the Home Army.
The rebellion has begun and the PC's must fight their way out,using the sewers as part of their escape route.
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- 30 Cities by Cheka Man Bound
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Two questions.
1. - Why is are the mountains called Silverrock when there is no mention of silver being discovered there?
2. - Bronze is an alloy, not a naturally occuring metal, it has to be mined in its two component elements (copper and zinc?) and the two have to be smelted together to create Bronze. Brass is created in a similar fashion. Okay, not a question, more of a statement...sue me.
Otherwise interesting.
3/5
I'll edit it a bit.....it badly needs editing.
There,editing done. Thank you, Scrasamax.
Took me two readings to gather all the implications of what is going on. Once I read it correctly it made sense. Not too bad, an interesting situation to travel into with plenty of opportunity for profit.