Royal Grounds

The Royal Grounds are separated from the rest of the city by a low hill ( usually called Royal Hill). City streets lead up steps or paths carved into the hill, but the edges of the hill itself are kept clear of buildings to provide a clear field of fire should the city be attacked. The two largest buildings on the hill are the Old Palace and the Free Army Barracks (formerly the Royal Furyondian Barracks). A grassy plain covers part of the hill near Old Old Town and is used as a parade ground, while a similar plot near the barracks is used for military maneuvers by the Free Army. The rest of the hill is covered in townhouses, mansions, and gardens owned by the nobility of Dyvers, the majority of which live in the Royal Grounds ( with the remainder living in estates scattered across the countryside).

The city wall curves around the southernmost part of the hill, with a single pedestrian gate allowing the outside world access to the richest part of Dyvers. Near the edge of the hill is a secondary wall and gate, built to defend against an invasion from the south.

RGI. Old Palace

This sprawling building once housed the king of Furyondy and his staff when Dyvers was the capital of that nation, but since the relocation of the capital to Chendl and the subsequent secession of Dyvers, the place has become the offices of the Magister and her staff as well as containing meeting rooms for the Gentry and formal courts for serious offens­es. The place is well guarded, and any serious attackers will soon find themselves surrounded by supplemental troops from the Free Army barracks to the south.

RG2. Barracks

The extensive barracks of the Free Army provide a place to sleep for about twelve hundred of the city's soldiers. Other sections of the barracks building provide administrative offices, officer's quarters, and other sorts of things expected from a military building. The barracks is not particularly fortified, as the Free Army is expected to defend the city in times of need and not hole up in their own barracks.

RG3. Academy of Sorcery

While the Academy of Sorcery in Dyvers is nowhere near as large and renowned as the Free City's Guild of Wizardry in Greyhawk, it is an institute worthy of respect. Academy wizards are all required to do charitable works for the city ( usually minor tasks such as casting continual light spells in Old Town, ESP to aid a trial, and so on), which irritates some but for most generates personal interest in the city. Their office is a stone building near the east tower on the Royal Grounds defensive wall, and it is not unknown for Academy wizards to defend Dyvers with long-range spells when large creatures threaten the city. The current head of the Academy is Hodar, an expatriate of Urnst with a great resentment against the Free City's Guild of Wizardry for unknown reasons. Hodar is one of the few who can truthfully claim to have been in the Ghost Tower of Inverness. Imprisoned in Urnst for delving into forbidden magical research, he earned his freedom by retrieving an item for the late Duke Justinian of Urnst. Hodar provides local magical assistance for the Slavelords and relays messages ( via dream spells) to the slavelord Kent in the Pomarj (see "Deep in the Pomarj: Kalen Lekos"). His only motivations are a need for money for research and his dislike of Greyhawk.

RG4. Walgrim's Mansion

Walgrim Emirian is the eldest son in a long line of warrior nobles. After adventuring for several years and fighting in military campaigns against Iuz and the Great Kingdom, he retired with an injury to his sword arm inflicted by a strange sort of undead. Priests have had a hard time repairing the damage, and he has not fully recovered the use of his arm despite spending most of his personal and family fortune on various magical treatments. Recent rumors have him courting the wealthier females of the Gentry and merchant class in order to restore his family's wealth (his noble lineage is a good prize for most potential matches). W algrim Emirian has gotten money from the Slavelords and a promise that in exchange for his help they will do whatever it takes to get his arm fully cured. Walgrim is well traveled and has many old friends that can provide information or favors to his new "friends."

Type

Neighbourhood