Sharn
Sharn is the most populous city in all of Khorvaire. The city literally towers atop a cliff above the mouth of the Dagger River in southern Breland. Sharn is known as the City of Towers, for its impressive skyline of tall towers, but has also been called many other names, including the City of Knives, the City of Lost Souls, the City of a Thousand Eyes, the Gateway to Xen'drik, and the Gateway to Perdition.
Demographics
| Humans | 33% |
| Dwarves | 17% |
| Halflings | 9% |
| Goblinoids | 9% |
| Gnomes | 8% |
| Elves | 7% |
| Half-Elves | 5% |
| Shifters | 4% |
| Changelings | 3% |
| Orcs & Half-Orcs | 2% |
Government
Although the Lord Mayor appears to have the most power in the Sharn government, in actuality it's the City Council who appoints the Lord Mayor. The City Council also commands the [Sharn Watch]. The City Council is made up of a councilor from each ward in the city (although Cliffside is merged into Dura, and one councilor represents both Ashblack and Blackbones), to a total of seventeen councilors. The City Council establishes laws, determines how to use resources (taxes), and also appoints high officers of the city. While the City Council holds the true power, the Lord Mayor does represent considerable influence in Sharn by being in direct contact with the Brelish crown.
Industry & Trade
Sharn's production mainly consists of Creation Forges, immens eldritch machines that produce Warforged.
Infrastructure
Sharn is a vertical city. It is divided up into five distinct plateaus: Central Plateau, Menthis Plateau, Northedge, Dura, and Tavick's Landing, as well as the Cliffside district built into the sides of the cliff near the Dagger River. While each plateau divides the city into districts, the city is also stratified vertically and divided into several sections. The lowest wards of the city are called the Cogs, and if one were to walk to the heights of Sharn they would pass through the Depths, the Lower City, Middle City, Upper City, and then finally they would need to find some method of travel to the highest section of Sharn, which is Skyway. Generally, the higher one is in Sharn, the wealthier the citizens are. Each section of the city is further divided into smaller districts.
Districts
Central Plateau
A long wall circles the Central Plateau at it's lowest level, interrupted by towers along it's entire length. Inside the wall, structures rise higher and higher towards the middle, creating a huge artificial mountain at the heart of the city. Mostly populated by the upper and middle classes, the Central Plateau houses the seat of the city's government, it's wealthiest citizens, and it's finest businesses. Embassies from other nations, important representatives of the dragonmarked houses, and banks are found here as well.Menthis Plateau
Serves as the entertainment hub of the city, and is home to Morgrave University with a variegated quilt of different races. Certainly the most trendy of Sharn's Quarters. Menthis is a popular tourist destination. No walls surround Menthis though its tallest towers are spread along it's outer rim. The enormous dome of Morgrave University, ringed by five tall, slender towers, stands near the center of the plateau.Northedge Plateau
The most residential of Sharn's quarters, contains everything from towertop penthouses in the heights to tightly packed apartments on the lower levels. Aside from a marketplace district near the bottom of the towers, Northedge is a quiet neighborhood with little commerce and little crime.Dura
The largest quarter in Sharn, covers the great expanse of the western plateau from the cliffs overlooking the Dagger River to the crevasse of the Western Cog. It is also the poorest, excepting the Cogs, with even its topmost levels solidly middle class. Dura mixes various businesses and housing, never approaching a true residential district but holding a number of apartments, tenements, and (near the bottom) slums. The lower levels of Dura include a large population of immigrants from Darguun and Droaam, forming a neighborhood of goblinoids and other monstrous residents.Cliffside
A neighborhood perched precariously on the side of the cliffs above the Dagger River and Sharn's waterfront. It includes the waterfront businesses far below Dura, as well as towers built up from the cliff face and a shantytown of caves dug into the sides of the southern cliffs overlooking the Hilt. The businesses of Cliffside are either directly related to shipping or cater to boat crews, adventurers and other transients.Tavick's Landing
At the eastern edge of the city. Is in some ways defined by being the terminus of the Orien lightning rail line and trade road. The lower levels cater to travelers and traders entering Sharn by rail, and include an entire city district that has been converted to provide housing for refugees from the Last War. The middle and upper levels are broader in their purposes, including a variety of trades, services and residential districts.Skyway
Is magically suspended above the city on gigantic disks of force, like Tenser's Floating Disks taken to a fantastic extreme. These disks are among the many magic items and effects in the city that work only because of the presence of the manifest zones linked to Syrania. Not a cloud palace but an actual extension of the city, Skyway includes some of Sharn's finest inns and restaurants, exotic and upscale trades, and a number of mansions belonging to the very richest citizens.The Depths
Is the generic name for everything that lies beneath the city's main plateau, excepting Cliffside and the Cogs far below. The upper levels give way to active and inactive sewers, some of which have their own inhabitants, as well as the mostly forgotten ruins of earlier settlements built long before the towers started to rise. Far below and accessed by well-maintained tunnels and shafts, the Cogs sit at the very base of Sharn and serve as an actively populated center of industry. In fact, the roots of modern Sharn's towers lie underground in some places, buried by the passing of centuries.The Cogs
Are the churning heart of the city, full of forges and foundries powered by steaming geysers, molten lava, and bound fire elementals. Extending far below the foundations of Sharn's towers and built along the banks of the great chasms that divide the city, the Cogs incorporate elements of ancient ruins and natural caverns.Guilds and Factions
Clifftop Guild - Guild for explorers and professional adventurers based out of the Clifftop district
the Guild has a reputation for reliability and integrity, and has a strong rivalry with the less-reputable Deathsgate Adventurer's Guild
Deathsgate Adventurers' Guild - Guild for adventurers and mercenaries based in the Deathsgate district of Sharn. Many Deathsgate Guild members served in the Last War. The Guild's leader and founder is Kassh "Blackaxe" Droranath. The guild has a reputation for getting jobs done, no matter how unsavory the means.
Blademarks Guild - Guild of House Deneith dedicated to providing general security.
Boromar Clan - A halfling family that is the most powerful criminal organization in Sharn.
Daask - A criminal organization that has recently begun to spread across Breland and Aundair. Using violence and intimidation to carve out a niche in the underworld, the group is composed almost exclusively of monsters from Droaam.
Defenders Guild - Guild of House Deneith dedicated to providing personal protection of clients. Members of the Defenders Guild are experienced mercenaries who have served at least a year in the Blademarks Guild.
Esoteric Order of Aureon - A wizards circle in Breland. They are dedicated to the lawful use of magic to preserve society.
Guild of Starlight and Shadows - A wizards circle in Breland.
House Tarkanan - A criminal organization based in Sharn consisting mostly of bearers of aberrant dragonmarks. House Tarkanan has a reputation for assassination, thievery and other unlawful deeds
House Vadalis - Also known as the House of Handling'. A human dragonmarked house bearing the Mark of Handling that operates throughout Khorvaire. With the power to calm and control beasts, the house's most significant trade is in the breeding and training of animals.
History
The city now known as Sharn was built upon a foundation that dates back thousands of years before humans ever settled Khorvaire. During that time, the goblinoid Dhakaani Empire's greatest city was carved into the jagged cliffs that Sharn now towers over. This city was called Ja'Shaarat. This metropolis didn't rise toward the skies, like Sharn does. Instead, the architects of the Dhakaani built a vast number of chambers and tunnels into and under the ground. As the city grew in size, the Dhakaani eventually built great monolithic buildings on the plateaus above the Dagger River that would later serve as the foundations for Sharn. When the daelkyr invaded Eberron, the city was devastated, and the goblins never had a chance to restore it to its greater glory.
Thousands of years later, when human settlers from Sarlona began to explore Khorvaire, they stumbled upon the Dagger River. The river led Malleon the Reaver and his explorers to the site where Ja'Shaarat once stood. There he enslaved what goblins still resided in the ruins and erected a fortress there. He sealed off the lower wards of the ancient goblinoid city and named the city Shaarat, as a result of stories told by the goblins he enslaved. For 600 years, Shaarat prospered and grew into a powerful metropolis once again. Breggor Firstking, the first ruler of what would become Breland, eventually conquered Shaarat and renamed it Sharn.
Over the course of the next 800 years, Sharn's towers began to rise and the city developed into something resembling Sharn today. Around this time, the dragonmarked houses began to prosper and this helped cultivate Sharn into an economic power. But the dragonmarked houses also brought with them War of the Mark. The leader of those who bore the aberrant dragonmark, Halas Tarkanan, took control of Sharn and turned it into a home for all who wore the destructive marks.
Tarkanan couldn't hold the city for long, but in the end he used his terrible powers to destroy much of the city. For the next 500 years, the city was looked down upon and the city remained in ruins. Then, when Galifar I took control of the Five Nations he rebuilt Sharn. The metropolis felt the blessings of Galifar and eventually developed into the center for trade, diplomacy, and intrigue that it is today.
Geography
Sharn looms atop the cliffs overlooking the Hilt, a bay at the mouth of the Dagger River in southern Breland. The city sits upon the foundation of an ancient goblinoid city. Below that, a rumored lake of molten lava rests, but its presence can be felt only in the lowest parts of Sharn, the Cogs.
The inhospitable outcropping that Sharn sits on allows the city to grow only in vertical height. This might have been a problem for other cities, but Sharn happens to be located within a manifest zone linked to the plane of Syrania, the Azure Sky. The manifest zone enhances magic that creates flight and levitation. This allows Sharn to have towers that rise nearly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) in height, transportational flight, and even a section of the city that floats above the highest towers on clouds.
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Towers, The City of Knives, The City of Lost Souls, The City of a Thousand Eyes, The Gateway to Xen'drik, The Gateway to Perdition
Type
Metropolis
Population
500,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Sharnians
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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