FOUR WINDS - THE TRADING HUB

Large City: Conventional; AL LN; 60,000 gp limit; Assets 56,040,000 gp; Population 18,680; Mixed (80% human, 8% halfl ing, 4% gnome, 3% dwarf, 2% elf, 1% half-elf, 1% half-orc, 1% other).

Four Winds stands at the crossroads of two major highways that enable trade and travel between four great nations. The city exists for commerce, and it has grown to its current size as the literal center of its economic region. The city operates undr a traditional, aristocratic government that is supported by all four of the nearby kingdoms, each of which is pleased to see the nobility in charge of so vital a mercantile center.

Four Winds has a higher gp limit than most cities its size due to the constant infl ux of travelers and merchant caravans from all over the world. It frequently houses more than 8,000 travelers in addition to its usual population. Both an increased spending limit and a high transient population are common features of major trading cities.

ARCHITECTURE

The major structures of Four Winds are large and impressive, yet lack any single unifying style. The city’s architects are torn between the confl icting desires of impressing merchants and dignitaries from distant lands and avoiding the appearance of bias toward any one culture. As a result, public buildings reach for a grandiosity they fail to attain, conveying a sense of pomposity without any real majesty. They appear to be based on descriptions of other great structures never actually seen by residents of the city.

Unimportant buildings, such as small shops and the private homes of less prominent citizens, are simple, built of inexpensive wood. Most are plain and unadorned, but some feature gaudy decor in a feeble effort to appear more important than they are.

LAYOUT

Four Winds is surrounded by a single defensive wall, 20 feet tall and 10 feet thick. The wall is wide enough for guards to patrol and strong enough to withstand at least a brief siege (hardness 8, 450 hp, break DC 55). Yet a trading hub cannot afford to make access difficult, and the city has never needed to repulse invaders. Thus, vast gates pierce the wall at many points, including on each of the four main roads. Though they normally stand open day and night, the gates are solid and defensible, constructed of heavy wood (hardness 5, 20 hp, break DC 23). Each gate has a standing guard of two city watch soldiers (5th-level human warriors).

The city government spares no expense in road maintenance, even when cutting costs in other services. The cobblestone streets are built to accommodate feet, hooves, and wheels. The main roads are abnormally wide, allowing even the largest wagon to pass unhindered. Intersections have clearly marked street names, and most major thoroughfares are lit at night by lanterns or—in the richest portions of town—by continual fl ame effects. The layout of the minor streets is a simple grid, so visitors can easily find their way around. Smaller roads and alleys are hidden from the main roads behind buildings, ensuring that merchants are not inconvenienced by trash or beggars.

Four Winds Map Key

The keyed locations on the Four Winds map indicate various districts of the city. For a general discussion of these features, see City Districts beginning on page 34. The city’s walls and gates are discussed under Layout, above.

1. Defensive wall
2. City gate
3. Civic district/Lord’s Manor (combined)
4. Embassy district
5. Fine shops
6. Magic district
7. Noble estates
8. Wealthy residential district
9. Average residential district
10. Garrison
11. Guildhall district
12. Marketplace
13. Temple district
14. Caravan district
15. Inn/Tavern district
16. Red-Light district
17. Shantytown
18. Slum/Tenement district
19. Warehouse district

PERSONA

Ironically, Four Winds’ attempts to remain culturally neutral have produced a unique personality. Styles and fashions from nearby kingdoms and farther lands blend to create a riot of colors, garish to visitors but considered the height of taste by the inhabitants. Foods, music, games, and languages from the world over are equally mingled—Four Winds has a scent and an accent all its own.

The people of Four Winds have an overdeveloped sense of their own importance to the region, but they try to hide that attitude from travelers. Citizens believe themselves to be cosmopolitan and declare their tolerance of others, but they actually hold fairly provincial attitudes. They scoff at unfamiliar beliefs and often mock the dress and behavior of foreigners—but only out of earshot, since they want visitors to feel comfortable and thus be willing spend money in the city. This facade manifests as a sense of brittle politeness, a pseudo-friendliness that visitors notice. Merchants fl ock to Four Winds to trade—or at least to stop over on their journeys to other markets—but few foreigners stay long.

In order to make merchants feel safe and secure, the city government makes a show of rigidly enforcing the law. In truth, Four Winds has an exceptionally high crime rate, but so long as miscreants limit their activities to picking pockets and other petty thefts, the guard grants them some latitude in the name of maintaining the peace. Should a foreign merchant be harmed or murdered, however, the guard turns Four Winds upside-down in the search for the perpetrator.