Player’s Guide to Fogdown

Also known as the City of Stolen Splendor, The Twice Fallen Republic, Thieves’ Down, The Bay of Fog, Fogdown is a massive city-state metropolis built on an island off the Sword Coast of Faerun. Historically it has been the way point and layover of cargo ships passing up and down the Sword Coast. Fogdown’s massive lighthouses have always been a welcome sight while passing through the dense fogs that haunt the area.

Fogdown’s history is a difficult web of competing interests from the deranged and corrupt many who have have waged an endless war of theft and murder seeking power and wealth to the just and courageous few who have stepped on her shores seeking the once noble city’s redemption. It has been a unique series of struggles over the cities ebbs and flows of resources which have given rise to it’s current state.

Throughout it’s history, few can afford to leave the island, and even less can afford to live. It can breed the worst, malevolent criminals or the most strict, unmovable law-giver.

Life and Society

If something needs to happen, this is where it gets done. Right underneath the surface of Fogdown is a world of deviance, murder, corruption, theft and despair. The only life for many is a life of crime; survival by any means.

People are packed into towering buildings by the dozens, while the The Divine Triad rules with an unflinching law-giving fist. Walls are constructed weekly, restricting movement and passage, only to be torn down by criminal guilds maintaining the the flow of goods which the city partly survives on.

Most live as criminals, stealing their way through life, competing for scraps of wealth and power left over from the House and Thieves Guilds.

Government

Fogdown is controlled by a select group of noble families called Houses, organized in a City Senate. Houses are recognized formally by a vote in the City Senate, with new Houses having to apply for recognition, usually accompanied by a large sum of money. Five House: Ashenfey, DeMay, Venolay, Samreich, Mai trace their founding back to the founding of the first Senate.

Each noble family is alloted a number of seats on the senate based on an internal senate vote, influenced by favor, bribe and threats. The equality of corruption in the senate has ensured that no one House has consolidated power. Election to each seat a House is alloted, differs from House to House, with some being filled based on patrilinear heritage to others by internal elections.

Religion

Numerous churches call Fogdown home, each competing for their deities influence over the citizens and denizens of Fogdown. Most notably the church of Mask and Shar have the longest competition for influence on the island with the church of Cyric just recently entering the mix. Of the more kindly gods, Helm, Torm and Tyr came united and by force at the end of 2nd Republic, establishing the current period, the 3rd Republic.

Because Faerun’s general religious structure is polytheism, worshiping or at least acknowledging different gods, even opposed gods, is quite common. Churches in Fogdown are more concerned with spreading their domain and in turn worshipers (e.g. Mask is the god of thievery, thus more stealing gives Mask more worshipers and thus power, while Tyr is the god of justice, etc.)

Other Organizations

Countless notorious organizations nest in the City of Fogdown’s seemingly endless alleys, back ways and sewers, each with their own Darwinian niche of criminal activity. The most infamous at this time are The Nightsend, The Hangmen, The Thousand Hands, Thieves of the Last Dance, and Windsong.