Luskan
Demographics
Mostly human; drow; tiefling; other
Defences
Defensive Wall Rings, Round Towers, The Host Tower, Inner Strongholds
Infrastructure
Marketplaces, Watermills, Shipyards, Bridges, Cobble Roads, Critical Infrastructure,
Districts
Arcane Center
This District is only open to members of The Arcane Brotherhood and holds the The Host Tower of The Arcane as well as some surrounding islands and buildings.Marble District
The Marble District is home to the wealthy Aristocrat and Noble population reside. Here you'll find the only airship ports open to non-brotherhood members, and the high class parks and statues of marble make clear the wealth of Luskans ports.Gravel District
The ports in this lower district used by most low-class merchants and pirates fund this districts taverns and markets. The roads lined with gravel and closely packed wooden homes are rife with disease and rival gangs who vie for control of the three lower districts.Lower East Mirar
Located south of the river Mirar this district contains the most of Luskans slums and farmers, generally looked down upon even by pirates the streets here are rife with trash and sewage.Upper East Mirar
Located North of the river Mirar the Upper East Mirar most of Luskans small middle class and artisans live here. Smiths, Carpenters, Stonecutters, and other vital services are located here.Guilds and Factions
The Arcane Brotherhood
Without a doubt the Arcane Brotherhood rules Luskan as of 1544 DR, Centralized within the Host Tower the Wizards harvest power from the city like a farmer tending to his fields.Baroque
A subsection of Nobles belong to this category who have sworn allegiance to the Arcane Brotherhood. They act as eyes and ears among other nobles, feeding information to the Arcane Brotherhood for increased standing and power. In this group rests teachers and students of the Successio of The Arcane, The Church of Mystra, and other schools within the city as well as powerful nobles and wizards trusted enough by the brotherhood to be placed within the group. Those with the Baroque benefit from opportunity's and treasure curtesy of The Host Tower, as well as the opportunity to rise through the ranks of The Brotherhood.The Noble Group
Those with money within the marble district are most likely a part of this group, comprised of nobles within Luskan not used by the brotherhood like The Baroque, instead interested in problems you'd expect the rich and powerful of differing countries to be interested in. While the individuals of this group can have very varying motivations the defacto head of the group is Miss Evengale, who carries with her a superior air of influence even among nobles.The Merchants Alliance
Comprised of namely wealthy merchants these gentlemanly folk control and influence many of the boats that dock along Luskans cost. Hailing mostly from Amn this is only a small branch of the larger Merchants Alliance who seek to control and profit from trade on a global scale.The Nine
A group of coordinated thieves and thugs based in the Gravel District. Once headed by Sarandiel and now headed by Draxton these deadly thieves take and steal what they need to make by in a city full of those who would wish to see them gone. The Nine are no brainless pack of thieves however, they take little enough to not wake the bears of Luskan, and still have plenty to eat during long winters.The Workers Guild
A Guild comprised and representing the workers in Luskan, from farmers to masons these folk are all deeply interested in worker conditions and rights in Luskan. Internally they are all comprised of different worker unions of different workers, such as a mason union, farmer union, merchants union and so on, who all from time to time when they agree collaborate to strike and change politics.???
This group exists in Luskan, ask anyone about the house of Chauntea and they will tell you about the horrors they've contributed to. Rumored to comprise mostly of Tieflings these people have been pinned as Asmodeus worshipers, child eaters, devils, terrorists, soul less killers and mind controllers this group has been pinned with many crimes and deaths within Luskan. They are said to be mostly in the Lower East Mirar but the crimes the commit have ranged to every district except the Arcane District.History
Built on the magical ruins of Illusk in 1323, Luskan began as a pirate city, frequented by pirates and thieves intrested in making coin. Although life was dangerous, the city was lucrative and it's black market thrived. Northern traders would frequent the town as a rest stop before traveling north to trade in The Ten Towns . The trade in ale, drugs, and slaves were rife and Luskan would continue to see growth.
Luskan also had a history of waging war on lesser naval powers, and continued to fight until it was faced with war against the Lords Alliance in 1370 DR. Luskan had also been at war with many of the island nations in Faerun, but had faced defeat against most of them. The war against Lantan was disastrous enough the people of Luskan would not acknowledge it's happening. Inland Luskan would attack and subdue surrounding tribes in order to keep them submissive.
In autumn of 1376 DR Luskan was attacked by Lord Brambleberry of Waterdeep , the attack destroyed the Host Tower and laid waste to many of the towns homes. Lord Brambleberry assumed control of Luskan, and even though he tried to rebuild as many homes as possible before winter, the starvation of 1376 was imminent. People were killed in the streets for food, and those who didn't kill starved. Supplies sent to Luskan were either stolen or sunken before they could make port, some speculate that they were attacked by a survivor of the Host Towers destruction, Arklem Greeth , said to of died in the attack. When the body of Lord Brambleberry was found, it was over. Luskan would become a free port, a place of trade where absolutely no questions were asked.
In the years after the Spellplague, Luskan fell into ruin. Rulership would change hands as people clawed there way to power, gangs ruled the streets goblins skulked in the shadows, the river Mirar became infested with aquatic horrors, criminals escaping trial would seek haven in the city, as devil worshipers would walk the streets proudly with no need to hide. Luskan became a mockery of its former self, and even though the High Captains kept some control over the ports they were more interested in using Luskans law less nature to make a profit.
In 1483 DR the city was in disrepair, bridges left collapsing, taverns run out of business, and gangs demanding coin for passage on most streets. It seemed that Luskan would remain in this state, a nuisance to the world.
However The Arcane Brotherhood returned, in 1497 DR they, along with a small battalion of mages and wizards, returned to Luskan. In the following year they fought with existing gangs and The High Captains to seed control of The Host Tower of the Arcane and the inner walls of Luskan, finally claiming victory over them in 1498 DR after brokering a deal with the remaining High Captains.
The Arcane Brotherhood in previous time did not assume control of the city directly, but now assumed military control of the streets dealing with law breakers harshly, usually without trial. They began repair of the Host Tower, reviving the tree with magic, and began The Netherese Trade , putting Luskan back on the map. As trade increased the city began to regrow as the Host Tower did, and The Arcane Brotherhood made sure people were welcomed to Luskan again. In 1490 Luskans population was in the low thousands, in 1510 it had grown to the tens of thousands as many other nearby cities became more cramped and lacked the free space The Arcane Brotherhood was willing to give.
Luskan joined the conference to sign into being The Sword Coast Federation in 1513 in a move to strengthen trade relations with the other cities on The Sword Coast, and while others on the Sword Coast continued to view Luskan suspiciously as its reputation as a pirate city had not faded over time, many did come to see Luskan as a more beneficial ally then enemy.
Luskan would see many expansions to the city ground in the 16th century, in 1511 DR the district East Mirar was formed as many began building homes outside of the city walls. East Mirar would later be split to Lower East Mirar and Upper East Mirar in 1538 DR as population increased. The Marble District was founded in 1512 DR as influential members of upper society seeking to differentiate themselves from other districts founded the Marble and Gravel districts.
As Luskan saw financial success so continued its growth, as the second city walls were erected in 1537 encompassing the newer districts, markets were expanded, and the academy's of the Successio of the Arcane, Hope of Mystra, and Greeth Academy were built and began to train a new generation of wizards.
Founding Date
1323 DR
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Sails
Type
Large city
Population
40,000 - 50,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Luskar
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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