Stilben

Stilben stinks to high heaven. Also known as the “Rotted Lot” by the countless sailors and merchants who pass through it, Stilben is the largest port city on this coast of Tal’Dorei, and is the focal point of all imports and exports to the East. The city is nestled in the sticky depths of the K’Tawl Swamp, and the lingering stink of marsh water and sulfur mingles with the humidity and the ever-present buzz of insects to produce an air of misery around Stilben’s outer districts. Pushed out of the cozy heart ofStilben, the city’s poor and disenfranchised citizens—disparagingly nicknamed “muckdwellers”—struggle to eke out a living in the K’Tawl’s murky waters.
Central Stilben houses most of the city’s businesses, residences, and attractions. As a fairly sizable trade hub, those living in the heart of the city like to present a clean, “civilized” view of their city. The cross-continental Silvercut Roadway leads from Stilben all the way to Emon, and its robust trade of rare goods, textiles, and spices has given rise to a formidable merchant ruling class. Though Margrave Wendle Truss is Stilben’s ruler in name, it is the guilds that hold true power. Their vast wealth and sizable “protection” force has forced the bombastic-yet-ineffectual Margrave to acquiesce to the will of guilds in order to maintain peace, as well as to preserve own station, within the city.
Order is kept by the the Waterwatch, Stilben’s official constabulary, but corruption is becoming more and more common within their ranks. The Clasp has learned that aflash of coin forgives many faults, and the famous ring of criminals has been allowed to flourish within Stilben for decades, sometimes working with the guilds to protect mutual interests, such as smuggling contraband goods and narcotics along the Silvercut Roadway. The Clasp’s foreign rivals, the Myriad, have recently established a lair within Stilben as well, and are undercutting the Clasp’s operations. The Myriad is less scrupulous than the Clasp, and has introduced a growing slave trade between eastern Tal’Dorei and Wildemount.

Demographics

70% Human, 10% Elf, 10% Halfling, 5% Half-elf, 5% Other

Guilds and Factions

The Clasp The Myriad The Council of Tal'Dorei

Alternative Name(s)

The Rotted Lot

Type

City

Population

9,015