Diffraxus
He removeth not the pillar of the cloud by day, and the pillar of the fire by night, from before the people. Exodus 13:22A metal scab spreads across the sands of the Sunswept lands. Gaping holes in the land belch forth smoke at all hours, and the glow of a thousand fires emanates from them at night. The whir, click and grinding of uncounted machines rises from the city, audible miles away. Towering metal arms covered in enormous glass lenses focus the light of the sun, scattering blinding light in all directions. This is Diffraxus, the City of Lenses, where Designers bend light itself to their inexorable calculations. The heart of Diffraxus is a series of metal cranes and towers covered with complex optical apparatus. Lenses dozens of feet wide move on carefully constructed armatures, controlled by machinery both within and below the towers. They move throughout the day, focusing light into smaller and smaller lenses until it vanishes into the earth below, collected and captured for study and consumption. Beyond these massive arrays, the city sprawls outward. Huge pits yawn seemingly at random throughout the city--places where the sand on the surface is funneled down into elemental smelting chambers, to be melted into glass to create more lenses and devices. Around these pits are the facilities housing a legion of nameless, numbered laborers, who work around the clock to maintain and build the pieces used in the clockwork city's maintenance. Day and night the elemental furnaces work. To look upon the city from afar is to see columns of endless smoke broken up by flares of impossibly bright metal. The oldest sand pits give way to the stony depths below, where the labor continues as the Designers oversee mining for metals and minerals. Diffraxus extends underground into the earth itself. Watchtowers surround the city, equipped with glass lenses and magical light sources. Like malevolent lighthouses, they scan the surrounding desert for would be infiltrators--or escapees.
Demographics
Recommended Parentages
| Category | Parentage |
|---|---|
| Dominant | Human, Infernal, Warforged |
| Minority | Fiendish |
| Enclave | Dwarven, Elemental, Goblinoid |
| Groups | Autognomish, Gnomish |
| Individuals | Azer, Draconic, Giant |
| Singular | Tabaxi, Thri-Kreen |
Recommended Upbringings
| Categories | Upbringings |
|---|---|
| Dominant | Combative, Hardy, Laborer, Skilled Labor |
| Minority | Avernus, Guardian, Specialist, Tinker |
| Enclaves | Defender, Dismantler, Scribe, Volcanic |
| Groups | Artificer, Banker, Stalwart |
| Individuals | Dis II, Efreeti, Ignan Warrior |
| Singular | -- |
Recommended Backgrounds
| Category | Backgrounds |
|---|---|
| Dominant | Soldier, Urchin |
| Minority | Guild Artisan |
| Enclaves | City Watch, Sage |
| Groups | Alchemist's Apprentice |
| Individuals | Magic Item Scholar, Occultist |
| Singular | -- |
Recommended Classes/Subclasses
| Class | Subclasses |
|---|---|
| Alchemist | Dynamo Engineer, Mad Bomber, Mutagenist |
| Antiquarian | Curator, Disenchanter, Infernal Trader |
| Artificer | Alchemist, Architect, Armorer, Artillerist, Battle Smith, Crystal Shaper, Disruptor, Machine Cultist, Reanimator |
| Barbarian | Path of the Abomination, Path of the Alchemical Brute |
| Cleric | Clockwork Domain, Diabolic Domain, Forge Domain, Glyph Domain, Knowledge Domain, Order Domain, Prophecy Domain |
| Craftsman | Any |
| Diabolist | Devilish Dark Path |
| Fighter | Armsmaster, Battlemaster, Clanking Mercenary, Dreadnought, Eternal Armor |
| Investigator | Antiquarian, Infernal Agent, Spy |
| Occultist | Abomination |
| Paladin | Oath of Inevitability, Oath of the Infernal |
| Rogue | Alchemist, Saboteur, Sapper |
| Sentient Weapon | Infernal Origin |
| Sorcerer | Clockwork Soul, Infernal Bloodline, Infernal Magic |
| Warlock | Fiend Patron, Great Machine Patron, The Inevitable |
| Wizard | Chains, Diabolist, Numerology, Order of Scribes, School of Clockwork |
Government
The inscrutable Designers rule Diffraxus. Their names are concealed from the populace, as are their ranks. The Populace identifies them by their distinctive traits. Amongst themselves, they maintain a numerical ranking system, with low numbers ranking higher than others--Designer 1 would be the highest rank. However, they constantly try to outmatch each other, proving their worth to The Machine Prince by creating new machines and creatures, conducting more and more elaborate experiments, and furthering their understanding of the Design.
While the Designers have their own individual beliefs about the pecking order, ultimately rank assignments are in the hands of Anachronous. When the Eschaton Clock deigns to directly contact them, rankings can fluctuate wildly, completely shifting the balance of power in Diffraxus. None dare question the will of the Machine Prince, however, so while competition is fierce, all accept the rank assignments as they come.
Defences
Sand barricades, a "clear zone" outside the city's walls, walls, watchtowers equipped with lenses capable of casting searchlights out into the sands.
Automatons warriors, warforged soldiers, conscripted populace, mechanized populace, and as a last resort the Designers themselves.
Infrastructure
Massive lens arrays on actuated metal arms towering over the city, capable of focusing sunlight to a destructive degree. Used primarily for capturing light and experimentation, rather than as a weapon.
Smelteries and foundries in the ground, powered by captured light & elemental , that convert sand into glass and refine minerals into metals.
Huge mining operations around the edges of the city
Districts
The Pit: center of the city. Surrounded by..
The Armatures: Enormous metal cranes that operate to capture the light of the Sunswept Lands and channel it into The Pit or the various foundries and smelteries.
The Ancillaries: Support structures
Type
Capital
Population
60,000+
Inhabitant Demonym
Diffaxans
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