Gradsul

Gradsul is a the biggest port city in the Kingdom of Keoland and the base of the Keoland Royal Navy. It is the seat of the Duchy of Gradsul, currently ruled by Duke Luschan X of Rhola. Its name means "Haven of the Suel" in the ancient Suloise language. Gradsul is also the largest seaport on the Azure Sea, with the cities of Irongate and Gyrax its nearest rivals. The city is divided into several distinct districts.

Demographics

Three quarters of the city's inhabitants are human, primarily of Suloise and Oeridian descent, with some Flan. 8% are elves, with 60% of those sylvan elves and 40% high elves. 6% are gnomes, 5% lightfoot halflings, 2% half-elves, 1% dwarves, and 1% other races. Gradsul's population is cosmopolitan and diverse. The native humans are primarily of mixed Suloise and Oeridian descent and are considerably more metropolitan and less superstitious than other regions of Keoland. Gradsul is a popular home to independent mages. The people of this region are also stereotyped as resourceful, forthright, domineering, and occasionally greedy, with a love of exploration and naval travel that have historically manifested as a lust for conquest. Several notable thieves' guilds dominate in this town.

Government

Hereditary Dukedom of the Rhola family, but the Duke of Gradsul typically does not reside in the city. Lord Mayor Solomon Rhola, a cousin of Duke Luschan administers the city government on a day to day basis. He is advised by a city council, consisting of the current Knight-Captain of the City Watch, the leader of the Merchant's Guild, the High Priest of Zilchus, the Admiral of the Royal Navy, the head of the Dockworker's Guild, and the Dean of the Royal Keoland Academy of Magic.

Industry & Trade

Gradsul has a robust ship building industry, including repair and refit capabilities. In addition to grain for trade goods, the city specializes in trading certain luxury goods, such as Keoish Brandy, Keoish Amber Wine, Keoland Blood Borne Brew.

Districts

The inner city walls contain the original portion of the city and has a vast warehouse district (Orgsworth), consisting of flat-rooved storehouses near the expansive docks in the main Port of Gradsul and containing the shipyards. The Docklands is the district closest to the docks and includes the Keoland Royal Navy Headquarters. There is also a great open Promenade district with numerous shops offering wares from across the Flanaess. The Promenade terminates at the Plasfeyr (Market Square), with many stands hawking additional wares. The Gartten district is an upper middle class district between Orgsworth and the Promenade. Barndanhel is the slum district adjacent to the Promenade and the Gartten district and is not for the faint of heart. Havverd is an upper class district to the north of the Docklands and contains the Royal Apartments, the Royal Keoland Academy of Magic, the Royal Keoland Observatory, and numerous temples.
Kaylgrunn Castle sits on a hill in the southeast of the original city and is the administrative seat of the city and the Duchy. When Duke Luchan is in town, this is where he holds court.
The Second Wall contains the neighborhoods of the first expansion and includes the Hillgate, Littler Molvar, and Garrisfurd districts. Hillgate's population primarily consists of the descendants of Amedian and Hepmon escaped slaves, who were taken in by the Duchy of Gradsul generations ago. People of Ketite and Bakluni stock live in Little Molvar and this neighborhood is intensely insular. Garrisfurd is considered an lower middle class district with many mid-level merchants, and a walled inner enclave of pure Keoish folk. The Garrisfurd Arena and Mercenary’s Guild is also in Garrisfurd.
Bellsfurd is one of the first districts outside of the wall and is home to miners and farmers who work west of the city. Ulgrad is populated primarily by Ulek refugees. Maldurnanhel is a sprawling district that acts as an overflow for all other districts and is the most diverse in Gradsul.
Ilbosok is an Olman shanty town outside the walls near the sewage outlet.

Guilds and Factions

The Royal Keoland Academy of Magic sits within the Havverd District, which has the distinction of having once taught Theodain Eriason, a legendary high elf wizard and the first demihuman to become a member of the Circle of Eight.
The Royal Naval Library in the Garrten District houses a comprehensive collection of maps and all manner of naval related texts.
A guild of freemages—wizards who refuse to kowtow to the academy of magic at Niole Dra, historically a legal requirement in Keoland—was established in this city under the protection of Duke Luschan and Archmage Drawmij, calling themselves the Sea Mages.
The Seekers, a loose-knit society of explorers and scholars, have a clubhouse in this city. They have patrons among the Luchan noble family here and have sponsored such famed expeditions as Tibarian Matreyus' ill-fated journey to the Amedio Jungle.
The Royal Explorer's Society - a group of cartographers, historians, academics, and sages who explore and map the world.
Keoland Royal Post - the official postal service of Keoland operates a mail service, carrying messages and packages across Keoland and the Flanaess by horse and ship. Sending a letter by mail is inexpensive; sending a package or a message by way of a courier is more secure but more expensive. If security is particularly important, the Royal Post can protect written messages using magic, such as the illusory script spell, and secure packages with the glyph of warding spell. The gnomes of House Sivis also maintain a network of sending stones to facilitate instantaneous communication across long distances. Short messages pass from one stone to another one within a network of message stations.

History

Founding

Gradsul was founded in -368 CY by House Rhola, one the Suloise factions who spread across the western Flanaess during the Great Migrations. Rhola settled the coastline along the Azure Sea, while House Neheli headed north and founded the city of Niole Dra in -358 CY. In -342 CY, following conflict with the native Flan tribes, a union was formed between Houses Rhola and Neheli and several minor Oeridian nobles. This union formed the Kingdom of Keoland, with its capital in Niole Dra. In -368 CY construction of the Colossus of Kord was completed within Gradsul Harbor.

Imperial Era

In 268 CY, Duke Tavish of Gradsul ascended to the Keoish throne, the first king of House Rhola since King Malv III. This began an era of conquest and expansion for Keoland which ended in 488 CY following the death of Tavish IV. In the mid-fourth century CY, Gradsul was one of several southern Keoish settlements on the Azure Sea to be raided by pirates, taking advantage of the king's imperial to the north which left the southern settlements vulnerable. Keoland never successfully destroyed the pirates, and by 444 CY, the pirate groups would confederate as the Sea Princes. In 433 CY, the Duke of Gradsul disappeared in the Amedio Jungle.

Recent History

In 584 CY, Gradsul was the subject of an invasion attempt by a naval force from the Lordship of the Isles, led by the Obsidian Confederacy. The ships were able to establish a blockade at the mouth of the Sheldomar River, but were harried by the Keoish Navy and unable to mount a land invasion. The raid was successfully repelled by Duke Luschan, though at the cost of fully one quarter of his ships. In 585 CY, animated corpses began washing ashore and attacking small fishing villages south of Gradsul. The population of the villages made a sudden exodus to the city of Gradsul, leading to a fishing shortage which placed an increased burden on the city's ability to feed its population. As of 591 CY, Duke Luschan VIII has plans to build a dozen new frigates to defend against attacks via the Azure Sea; among them the ship Lionhearted. He has also been courting an alliance with Irongate, and a frigate of the prince of Naerie of the United Kingdom of Ahlissa has been seen docked in the city's harbor. A rival trade alliance between the Lordship of the Isles and the Principality of Ulek has been rumored, which has caused some concern in Gradsul. Gradsul has banned ships of the Lordship of the Isles from docking there.

Points of interest

A statue of Horus, a deity of the Pharaonic pantheon, is kept inside the Royal Keoland Museum. It depicts the deity wielding a sword. It was rescued from Argosia City in Ithar when the Great Library there burned during the Great Kingdom's conquest.

Architecture

The architecture is ancient Greek inspired, with many columnated public buildings and temples made of marble quarried from Jetsom Island.

Geography

Gradsul is located on the Azure Coast, near the mouth of the Sheldomar River in the south-east of the Kingdom of Keoland. It is to the east of the Dreadwood forest. The Sheldomar River marks the eastern border of the Duchy of Gradsul with the Principality of Ulek

Natural Resources

The city is highly reliant on local fishing villages to supply food to the population. Many small farms dot the countryside outside the city walls, providing grain and livestock to the city, as well as a surplus of grain, including wheat, corn, oats, and barley. A productive silver mine is located just south of the city on the peninsula. The wood from the Dreadwood forest to the west is essential for shipbuilding.

Gradsul Coat of Arms

by Anna B. Meyer

Ruler
Duke Luschan X of Rhola, Duke of Gradsul (Lord Mayor Soloman Rhola, cousin of Duke Luschan, administers the city in his stead.
Government
Feudal Duchy
Established
-368 CY
Resources
Grain, Fishing, Wood, Shipbuilding, Foodstuffs
Currency
Keoish Standard - Griffon (pp), Lion (gp), Eagle (ep), Hawk (sp), Sparrow (cp)
Population
50,000
Demography
Humans 75%, elves 8% (sylvan 60%, high 40%), gnomes 6%, halflings 5% (lightfoot), half-elves 2%, dwarves 1%, other 1%
Languages
Common, Keolandish, Elven, Gnomish, Halfling
Alignments
LG, NG, N, LN, CG
Religions
Atroa, Ehlonna, Elven pantheon, Fharlanghn, Heironeous, Kord, Lydia, Norebo, Olidammara, Osprem, Phaulkon, Procan, Rao, St. Cuthbert, Trithereon, Xerbo, Zilchus
Allies
Gran March, Sterich, the Ulek states, Geoff (exiles), Bissel
Enemies
Obsidian Confederacy, Pomarj, Iuz, nonhumans and giants in Crystalmists andelsewhere, Sea Princes (all factions), Celene (greatly disliked), Valley of the Mage(distrusted)

Gradsul

Open full size

Type

Large city

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Growfest

Related Reports (Secondary)

• Adventures in Greyhawk CY600 - 16 June Session Report