Arsham

Many miles miles under the Ironback Mountains, the grimock fortress of Arsham doubles as a town. These grimlocks do not intend to be taken captive by anyone or anything, and they have the illithid heads on pikes to prove it. A culture of paranoia and viciousness toward outsiders characterizes this community.
The town is situated in a spacious, circular cavern only 20 feet high. Water is provided by a river that drops straight down from a hole in the center of the ceiling. A network of aqueducts then carries the water overhead to various storage facilities around the community, and the excess spills over into a shallow communal bath in the center of town. Buildings are constructed out of great stone slabs leaned against each other, or against support posts. Ceilings are rare, but the low cavern provides roof enough.
The tunnels around the town are filled with traps to a distance of 1/4 mile, and bas-relief carvings of grimlocks driving spears into prone illithids mark the edge of the trapped zone. Within the marked area are a staggering number of deadfalls, spike traps, and cave-in traps. Residents who leave the town memorize the zone so that they can return safely, but anyone else who wants to enter must spend hours searching for and disarming traps.
Arsham doesn’t have gates, but it does have narrow, floor-to-ceiling walls that wrap around each other. Anyone who enters must thread through this serpentine “stile.” During assaults, the grimlocks cover the stile’s floor with oil and set it afire.
The folk of Arsham see visitors as threats. Residents meet with strangers and traders outside the trapped zone, but only someone who has done a great service to the town is ever invited inside. Mind flayers have attempted to infiltrate the city using dominated thralls, so the residents are wary of anyone they don’t know.

Type

Town

Location under

Undermountain