Ribcage
From A Players Primer to the Outlands (2e)
THE TOWN: The Vale of the Spine is a towering ridge of mountains that starts near the plane of Baator and creeps spireward almost to the River Ma'at. A smaller spur of the mountain range separates for a brief space into two parallel ridges, forming a tight valley between them. The narrow peaks of each ridge curve inward, looming over the valley like the ribs of some insanely huge (and thankfully-dead) beast.
The town of Ribcage is tucked neatly into this space, filling it entirely. The natives have walled up the gaps between the mountains, so travellers on foot have to use the large iron gates at each end of the valley. Once inside, visitors will find that the town's full of towers and private keeps. Most houses are built of shiny black or smooth grey stone, and high-ups with wealth and power show off by covering their cases in ornate decorations. The brick roads of Ribcage are the colour of fresh blood.
The most impressive place in town is the Citadel, the home of Quentill Paracs, the Lord of Ribcage (see "The Hoi Polloi"). It's a self-contained city within a city. The walls are carved from solid blocks of obsidian and ebony, and its steel portcullis is laced with strange and exotic items. Any berk who catches a gander at the Citadel knows who runs this burg.
Outside of the Citadel, the city's been divided up among five competing families, each with its own support. The different domains aren't walled off, but each group has checkpoints and guards to keep tabs on the traffic.
THE GATE: The Gate to Baator is in a separate complex somewhere within the Citadel, which means a cutter's got to march right past Paracs' nose to find it. The gate itself is a tall, spinning pillar of red light, filled with dancing motes of silver (said to be the disintegrated remains of berks who tried to cross the Lords of the pit). The Clueless should be aware that planars don't call this the cursed gate for nothing.
LOCAL SLTES: Ribcage ain't known for its hospitality, berk. Most taverns aren't much more than dives carved out of recently-abandoned buildings. A bit ringward, though, there's some hot baths built over volcanic springs. There, a body will find a few decent spas and resorts. These places are popular with travellers who have business in Ribcage but don't feel like butting up against Lord Paracs and his cronies. The best of the lot is the Gymnasium of Steam.
Toward Rigus, the Vale of the Spine is ruptured by the Great Pass, a flat pathway through the mountains that cuts the trip to Rigus in half. 'Course, a lot of planars who've been to Rigus consider that a mixed blessing.
CURRENT CHANT: Lord Paracs is thinking about setting up an embassy in town for cutters from Excelsior, Tradegate, and other gate-towns of good alignments. He figures a strong pocket of goodness will keep his city (and it is his city) firmly rooted in the Outlands and under his control.
Demographics
THE POPULACE: People here tend to be hard-working, suspicious, and grabby. Unlike their neighbours in Torch, they live for more than just coarse jink. In Ribcage, the goal is power in all its forms - monetary, military, and magical. Influence is the coin that pays the bills, and a basher with an edge over his fellows had better use it, or it'll be wrenched away.
Most of the population is tiefling, with a strong dose of lower-planar blood coursing through their veins. There are also humans, evil humanoids, bariaur, githzerai, and a few other races present, but the tieflings have the edge, and having the edge is all that matters.
Most visitors are surprised to find few natives of Baator in Ribcage. Fact is, Lord Paracs and the senators have little love for the Lords of the Nine. They don't want to see their town get sucked into that infernal plane, and they do what they can to keep fiends out.
Government
THE HOI POLLOI: Lord Quentill Paracs, a tiefling fighter and mage, rules the city, and all hop to his tune. A squat, hunched, fat old man, Paracs' goal is to make the city his personal domain until his death (and, some say, after it, as well).
To maintain the look of fairness, Ribcage has a council of five senators who are said to be able to outvote the Lord. But it's just a peel rigged by Paracs. The dark of it is that he holds three of the senators in his pocket at any one time, whether it's through bribes, threats, or hostages. Like the rest of the bashers in town, Paracs does what it takes to get ahead and stay ahead.
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