H9: Royal Opera House

From its name onward, this building is an example of Greyhawk trying to be a little grander than perhaps it really is. Though its architecture is unsurpassed in elegance and intricacy, its current state of disrepair is becoming a city disgrace.

For a full description of the Royal Opera house, as well as suggested encounters there, see Ch6 FFF.

H9: Royal Opera House, Once the most elaborately decorated building in the city, the Royal Opera House was neglected for the last few decades until it was in a disgraceful state of repair. Finally, grants from several noble families allowed renovation to begin, but the work has fallen behind schedule. The exterior is covered with scaffolding, and work sheds and scraps litter the grounds. If not for its principal singer, the place would have been abandoned by its patrons years ago. The current Director of the Opera is Selmund Rogetssen [NG hm 0-level; hp 3], the frightfully jolly and sociable 43-year-old son of immigrant Frost Barbarians, Selmund weats outrageously ostentatious clothing with no sense of style. Since his former boss retired, he has filled the opera schedule with either cheesy, low class productions that appeal to the lowest common denominator, or solo performances by Aestrella Shanfarel (see below), a female half-elf who is the most stunning operatic singer in the city’s history. Selmund continues a long rivalry between the Royal Opera House and the Grand Theater by bad-mouthing the latter every chance he gets and even hiring thugs to cause trouble during Grand Theater performances.

DM‘s Notes: Aestrella Shanfarel [LIN adult Greyhawk dragon — f; hp 66; Int 19; many magical items] maintains her disguise as a half-elf diva, loving the endless attention she receives from literally hundreds of adoring males. If she wants a favor from a male, she charms him. She has a secret agenda to undo the forces of chaos and evil in the city, but she does this in an unofficial capacity. Having carefully read the legal code for the city, she uses her spell powers to identify evildoers, then quietly arranges situations that lead to the discovery of their plots and guilt. The City Watch has received tips from her (messages either mailed in secret or dropped off at Watch Houses), but the Watch does not know the identity of the person sending the notes. Her cover was almost discovered several times by corrupt officials trying to catch her. No one knows she’s a dragon. She knows Mizaab Zalen (the only other Greyhawk dragon usually in the city), but she hasn't seen him in years. This doesn’t concern her, as Mizaab always comes and goes as he pleases. She seems to live at either the Royal Opera House or the Grand Theater, as she works at both; she rarely seems to sleep.