Korth
The weight of age is apparent even as you pass under the gates and enter Korth. Many of the stone buildings here appear thousands of years old, their crumbling edifices displaying the decorative arts of a bygone age. And the buildings are as massive as they are old. Many take up entire city blocks and stretch to fill the sky.The city of Korth has served as Karrnath’s capital since before the days of the kingdom of Galifar. Some of its buildings date back to the earliest human settlements; many others were built during the great expansion that marked the middle period of Galifar I’s reign. The Korth skyline rises along the southern shore of the Karrn River, with the dense Nightwood to the east of the city gates. The high walls of Crownhome, the hereditary home of Karrnath’s royal family, rise atop King’s Hill in the Highcourt Ward of the city. Another prominent structure, the Cathedral of the Sovereign Host, fills a sizable piece of real estate in the Temple Ward and has shrines dedicated to the entire pantheon. In general, the style of the city is heavy and symmetrical, with blocks set forth in a grid or radiating out from a central plaza. The militaristic influence that infuses all of Karrnath society permeates Korth and helps define the monolithic appearance of the buildings and decorative features such as monuments, obelisks, and tombs.
Demographics
Humans 60%, dwarves 19%, halflings 6%, half-elves 4%, elves 4%, other 7%
Government
The government of Korth, like all politics in Karrnath, is dominated by King Kaius. However, the city is ostensibly controlled by Civic Minister Hyran ir'Tennet who sees to day-to-day administrative duties and has some considerable power in his own right. This power divide is subtle and mostly played out in court intrigue so that the common people see a united and strong city government. The new embassies being built in Throneside are worrying reminders to many that the outside world is creeping in to the carefully maintained stronghold of Karrnathi royal authority.
Defences
Notably, the office of the Civic Minister's office has no control over the White Lions of Korth, the city's strong militia. This is overseen by General Thauram who has commanded the garrison since the final decades of the last war and served Karrnath for more than a century. Various noble houses have their own guard and during the sieges of the Last War these were called into service to defend the city alongside the Lions. This would likely only be for an outside conflict, however: the garrison buildings and thick walls of Korth seem to grind down the idea of any internal strife.
Industry & Trade
Most trade entering Korth comes through one of the four gates into the city: Westgate connecting Korth to points west, Eastgate to points south, Northgate to the east via the lightning rail, and the customs house of Rivergate along the city's waterfront. These strictly-controlled points are the only (legal) way to enter the city and so trade and shops fan out from them like cascades of water. They all meet in the central Commerce Ward which has the city's largest concentration of shops but more marketplaces can be found in other wards.
History
Korth suffered sieges from both Aundair (939– 940) and Cyre (936 and 971–973), but it never fell to the invaders—a fact that fills Korth residents with pride. But siege weapons damaged large swaths of the city, and Kaius used the rebuilding opportunity to unsnarl many of the tangled streets and add a semblance of order to one of Khorvaire’s oldest cities. Now Korth has five main wards: Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and the Low District. The riverside bluffs on which Korth was built provide natural borders between one district and the next.
Geography
Five wards make up greater Korth, and each ward has its own personality. These wards are named Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and Low District. While each ward consists of living space, markets, and other city necessities, each concentrates on an aspect of city life and is built to accommodate that aspect.
- The Highcourt Ward houses most of the government departments, as well as the halls of the royal family and some of the more affluent noble families.
- The Temple Ward features winding streets dedicated to the many religions of Khorvaire; everything from small shrines to giant cathedrals can be found here, and some representative of even the most obscure cult probably finds a location to preach from within the walls of this ward.
- The Commerce Ward presents businesses of all types and provides space for the enclaves of all the dragonmarked houses; supply and demand come together inside this sprawling ward.
- The Community Ward is the most residential ward in Korth, providing housing for the middle class.
- The Low District is a dangerous maze of narrow streets from which the poor and the destitute attempt to eke out an existence. The criminal element has a firm hold on the Low District, using its twisting warrens as a hiding place and somewhere from which to conduct business best done in the shadows.
Notable Features
Each of Korth’s five wards has features of interest to adventurers, whether they seek an audience with the king or black-market identity papers.The Gates
First contact with the White Lions for any traveler and the first glimpse inside Korth’s walls takes place at one of four places: Westgate (the terminus of the road from Rekkenmark), Northgate (the terminus of the lightning rail), Eastgate (the terminus of the road from Karrlakton), and Rivergate (a customs house on the dock, rather than a gate per se). Each gate has scores of White Lion soldiers on duty at all times, a not so subtle reminder for travelers of Karrnath’s umbrella of martial law. But it takes only minutes to pass a cursory check of travel papers, and even merchants bearing taxable goods can usually get beyond the gate in less than an hour. Two other gates, Southgate and Holygate, exist, but they aren’t ordinarily open. Southgate, near the king’s palace at Crownhome, is opened only for ceremonial parades. Clerics of the Sovereign Host magically fused shut Holygate in the northeast during the 973 YK siege, and it hasn’t reopened yet.Crownhome
On King’s Hill in the Highcourt Ward is the fortress-palace of Crownhome where Kaius rules. Built like a massive wall between two towering rock spires, Crownhome is as much military base as it is residence or seat of government. More than a thousand soldiers are garrisoned here, including elements of the White Lions city guard and the Conqueror’s Host, the king’s royal guard. The towers and roofs bristle with magical siege engines capable of reaching a full mile from the city walls. Kaius’s audience chamber is rather austere, but it’s designed to put visitors off their guard. Elite guards escort visitors through a labyrinth of twisting corridors. When they climb a final set of stairs into the throne room, they find they’ve emerged from underneath Kaius’s iron throne (a gift from the Mror dwarves) and now stand with him above and behind them. Maps of Khorvaire cover every wall, and a board for the chesslike game of conqueror sits at Kaius’s right hand. The throne room is strictly for official audiences; Kaius takes no entertainment there, and his ceremonial duties are few. The queen rarely uses this chamber; she has a pleasant, tapestry-filled audience chamber of her own. The east wing of Crownhome is the residence for the royal family.Tower of the Twelve
Floating above the center of the lightly wooded Wollvern Park is the Tower of the Twelve, a magicians’ college where the dragonmarked houses send their best and brightest. This thirteenfloor tower (with one empty floor to memorialize the lost Mark of Death) is full of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories devoted to arcane research. The Tower of the Twelve is the primary rival to the Arcane Congress, but only those affi liated with a dragonmarked house can enter and study within.Cathedral to the Sovereign Host
After the Treaty of Thronehold, Prelate Roerith led the reconstruction of Korth’s Cathedral to the Sovereign Host, a massive house of worship at the heart of the Temple Ward. Travelers come from miles around to worship there and see the Dome of the Twelve Moons, the inside of which has a magically animated starscape said to predict the future.Karrnath Capital City
Type
Metropolis
Population
85,500
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
| Destination | Travel Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rekkenmark | 7 days | 10.5 gp |
| Karrlakton | 13 days | 19 gp |
| Thaliost | 14 days | 20 gp |
| Flamekeep | 8 days | 12 gp |
| Thaliost | 14 days | 20 gp |
| Destination | Travel Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Regalport | 25 days | 1,800 gp |
| Stormhome | 7 days | 500 gp |
| Destination | Distance | Travel Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rekkenmark | 128 miles | 4.25 hours | 64 gp |
| Atur | 274 miles | 9.25 days | 137 gp |
| Vedykar | 522 miles | 17.5 hours | 261 gp |
| Fort Zombie | 778 miles | 1.1 day | 389 gp |
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