Outskirts
Four large settlements are situated just outside Absalom’s walls: Shoreline and Westerhold to the west, Copperwood to the northeast, and Dawnfoot to the southeast. Each has its own communities and functions, and all grew with and around Absalom in support of the city’s needs and those of the people who live there. The laborers who built Absalom’s early buildings created Copperwood by necessity of having somewhere to rest after their long day’s toil. Travelers arriving via the western road needed to stable their horses and find accommodations, which led to the growth of Westerhold. Military units tasked with fending off foreign conquerors formed their own community in Dawnfoot, and the fishers and trappers of what is now known as Shoreline banded together to make a small town centered around manufacturing and trade.
As a port town, Absalom’s harbor is of utmost importance to its citizens and economy. Thankfully, the harbor is protected by a unique barrier known as the Flotsam Graveyard. Made of thousands of sunken ships from millennia of attempted naval attacks on the city—as well as the razor-sharp reef of barnacles, mussels, and other sea creatures that formed around their wooden hulls—the barrier forms a semicircle around the harbor and closes it off against threats. At the mouth of Absalom’s harbor is Pilot Island, home to the Absalom Lighthouse as well as the Harbormaster’s Grange, where trained pilots wait to be hired to guide visiting ships through the dangerous maze of sunken masts and jagged hulls that litter the harbor floor from Pilot Island to the Docks. A high-security jail known as the Black Whale, comprised of six small ships anchored to the reef, sits near the harbor’s western edge. Beyond the isolation of its watery location, the prison is also guarded by hungry sharks and rays.
The Cairnlands lie further inland from the city and are named for the many lives lost over nearly 5,000 years of attempted sieges. These lands are mostly barren apart from the many abandoned siege castles littered across the landscape, all differing in size, form, and condition—and rumored to be full of forgotten treasures waiting for those courageous enough to explore them. Restless undead risen from the Cairnlands’ shallow graves and barrows pose a constant threat to careless wanderers.
There are numerous smaller settlements scattered around the Isle of Kortos, and the most important to Absalom’s welfare is the city of Diobel on the island’s southwestern coast. With a reputation for having a flexible relationship to the law, many goods pass through Diobel on their way to Absalom because they are subject to less—if any—inspection and can travel overland to avoid Absalom’s vexing harbor fees. Diobel is also the base of operations for the Kortos Consortium, a powerful inland merchant’s guild that is widely known to control illegal smuggling operations across the Starstone Isle. The town also provides many legitimate wares, however, with its long history of oyster farmers, pearl divers, and trappers.
Travelers to Absalom from Diobel must pass through the Diobel Hills and past the Immenwood, which bears the risk of encountering hostile harpies, minotaurs, and centaurs. These three threats trace their lineages back to the First Siege of Absalom, wherein the minotaur warlord Voradni Voon attempted to march a vast army comprised of those creatures through a portal to slay Aroden and take his place. When Voon was defeated, his surviving host fled into the surrounding lands, where some still lurk, bearing their ancient grudges.
The city of Escadar sits on the Isle of Erran’s southwestern coast, north of Kortos. With over 11,000 residents, Escadar is Absalom’s largest vassal city. As the home of the hippocampus-mounted Wave Riders and the seat of Absalom’s Navy, Escadar provides essentials such as shipyards and barracks, along with plenty of locales where a bored sailor can get into trouble.
As a port town, Absalom’s harbor is of utmost importance to its citizens and economy. Thankfully, the harbor is protected by a unique barrier known as the Flotsam Graveyard. Made of thousands of sunken ships from millennia of attempted naval attacks on the city—as well as the razor-sharp reef of barnacles, mussels, and other sea creatures that formed around their wooden hulls—the barrier forms a semicircle around the harbor and closes it off against threats. At the mouth of Absalom’s harbor is Pilot Island, home to the Absalom Lighthouse as well as the Harbormaster’s Grange, where trained pilots wait to be hired to guide visiting ships through the dangerous maze of sunken masts and jagged hulls that litter the harbor floor from Pilot Island to the Docks. A high-security jail known as the Black Whale, comprised of six small ships anchored to the reef, sits near the harbor’s western edge. Beyond the isolation of its watery location, the prison is also guarded by hungry sharks and rays.
The Cairnlands lie further inland from the city and are named for the many lives lost over nearly 5,000 years of attempted sieges. These lands are mostly barren apart from the many abandoned siege castles littered across the landscape, all differing in size, form, and condition—and rumored to be full of forgotten treasures waiting for those courageous enough to explore them. Restless undead risen from the Cairnlands’ shallow graves and barrows pose a constant threat to careless wanderers.
There are numerous smaller settlements scattered around the Isle of Kortos, and the most important to Absalom’s welfare is the city of Diobel on the island’s southwestern coast. With a reputation for having a flexible relationship to the law, many goods pass through Diobel on their way to Absalom because they are subject to less—if any—inspection and can travel overland to avoid Absalom’s vexing harbor fees. Diobel is also the base of operations for the Kortos Consortium, a powerful inland merchant’s guild that is widely known to control illegal smuggling operations across the Starstone Isle. The town also provides many legitimate wares, however, with its long history of oyster farmers, pearl divers, and trappers.
Travelers to Absalom from Diobel must pass through the Diobel Hills and past the Immenwood, which bears the risk of encountering hostile harpies, minotaurs, and centaurs. These three threats trace their lineages back to the First Siege of Absalom, wherein the minotaur warlord Voradni Voon attempted to march a vast army comprised of those creatures through a portal to slay Aroden and take his place. When Voon was defeated, his surviving host fled into the surrounding lands, where some still lurk, bearing their ancient grudges.
The city of Escadar sits on the Isle of Erran’s southwestern coast, north of Kortos. With over 11,000 residents, Escadar is Absalom’s largest vassal city. As the home of the hippocampus-mounted Wave Riders and the seat of Absalom’s Navy, Escadar provides essentials such as shipyards and barracks, along with plenty of locales where a bored sailor can get into trouble.
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