Beckinsdale
Beckinsdale is a relatively large coastal town in the province of Foven in the nation of Arthuria. It was founded by the wealthy human merchant Gertruda Crowe, with it initially simply serving as a homestead for her family. Over time the settlement grew and is now home to over 3,000 citizens. The name derives from the Leonin terms for 'philanthropist', 'beckan' and 'river delta', 'dale'.
Demographics
Ancestry
Beckinsdale is primarily inhabited by the human race, who make up around 61% of the city's population. While many locations in Arthuria have a high proportion of human inhabitants, for such a developed town 61% is extremely high. Humans are especially prevalent since the founder of the town, Gertruda Crowe, was a native Ouronan, and she brought many human families with her as she emigrated—whose offspring can still be found in the town to this day. After humans, there are a large number of halflings, dwarves, and dragonborn. Many halflings migrated to Beckinsdale due to it being a relatively short boat journey from Western Ourona, particularly Treeton and its neighbouring regions which have large Halfling populations. Many dwarves permanently settled in Beckinsdale after a few decades of the town's existence due to it being a prevalent trading hub for raw materials gathered from the Springcroft Highland. The presence of dragonborn can be linked to a clan of Brass Dragonborn warriors pledging allegiance to Gertruda Crowe shortly after the town was founded, leading to many of their offspring remaining in the town.| Ancestry | % | ~Total |
| Human | 61 | 1,913 |
| Halflings | 8 | 251 |
| Dwarves | 8 | 251 |
| Dragonborn | 7 | 220 |
| Leonin | 5 | 157 |
| Half-Elves | 4 | 125 |
| Gnomes | 2 | 63 |
| Aarakocra | 1 | 31 |
| Tabaxi | 1 | 31 |
| Other | 3 | 94 |
Ethnicity
When it comes to the country of birth, the vast majority of citizens in Beckinsdale are native Arthurians. Native Ouronans are also quite commonplace, but the majority of other Chivalierian nations have minimal native citizens living in Beckinsdale. Only a negligible amount of citizens are from somewhere other than the Chivalier Isles.| Ethnicity | % | ~Total |
| Arthurian | 85% | 264 |
| Ouronans | 5% | 154 |
| Lashelans | 3% | 93 |
| Morrerians | 2% | 63 |
| Dracostinians | 2% | 61 |
| Nógians | <1% | 19 |
| Other (Chivalier Isles) | 2% | 60 |
| Other (Worldwide) | <1% | 17 |
Wealth
The distribution of wealth is relatively similar to other settlements in Arthuria, however, there is still a high disparity between the rich and the poor. Beckinsdale has a very high employment rate, primarily due to a large number of jobs being available in Langsdale (the town's industrial district) and Odel port, which contributes to a relatively high average income. Many of these jobs don't pay well and are usually highly intensive, especially compared to the usually prosperous and more leisurely jobs in the market districts. A large number of the lowest-earning citizens congregate in a series of slums located on the West side of the river called the Ashes. There are several different residential areas on the East bank where people of varying wealth live, though most of the town's aristocratic population lives in the Brass district. The majority of aristocratic families have not originated from Beckinsdale but rather from the closest cities.| Wealth | % | ~Total |
| Wretched | 1 | 32 |
| Squalid | 6 | 187 |
| Poor | 29 | 910 |
| Modest | 36 | 1129 |
| Comfortable | 23 | 722 |
| Wealthy | 4 | 125 |
| Aristocratic | 1 | 32 |
Government
Beckinsdale operates under the national government of Arthuria and the regional government of Foven but also has its own municipal government. There are some differences in the law, particularly concerning trade; stricter requirements and higher penalties for failing to meet tariffs are common. In the centre of the Pearl district (the centre of government buildings and emissaries) lies the office of the Coalition of Lawmakers, where those responsible for managing differences in local laws and policies work. The Coalition also must ensure that Beckinsdale's local businesses and guilds are being held to the standards of the law, such as maintaining the minimum wage and ensuring the safe operation and production of goods for workers and consumers.
The role of the Mayor of Beckinsdale is usually held by an Earl or Countess with notable influence in the town and its surrounding area. The choice for mayor is made by a timocratic vote between all noble Lords and Ladies of Arthuria who own land in Foven, as well as the Duke or Duchess of Foven and the Viscounts and Viscountesses of Beckinsdale and its surrounding borough.
(taxes + laws)
Defences
The Arthruian Citizen Brigade operates as the main town guard system in Beckinsdale. They can usually be found patrolling the town's streets, and are well-equipped to deal with most dangers and threats they encounter. Beckinsdale is a frequent hub for travellers and adventurers, who often bring trouble with them. As such, different guards employ vastly different fighting styles to be able to deal with a wide variety of criminals and troublemakers.
In the event of extreme emergencies that require the entire Arthurian Citizen Brigade to be present, a series of large horns will be rung throughout the town, and a captain will use a light-emitting spell as a flare to notify all guards of their location. While this is considered a rare event, it still happens with surprising frequency due to the danger of the surrounding area and the frequency of pirate raids on the town's docks.
Beckinsdale is protected by a series of walls interspersed throughout the town. The mages in the Stoneshifters guild are responsible for the creation of these walls, and they are regularly maintained and repaired. The largest walls are those on the outskirts of the city, acting as effective defence from any potential intruders. Smaller walls can be found around various districts, but especially around the Pearl and Brass districts. While the walls initially started as simple structures made of stone and clay, over time most have been upgraded (mostly due to the work of the Stoneshifters by giving them parapets and crenels, as well as stronger fortifications surrounding the town's gates. There are now few areas where the original, plain walls remain, but they can still be found surrounding the Ashes and in some areas of the town's outskirts that are no longer in use.
Kingshill Bastion is arguably one of the most well-defended areas of the town, mostly due to it still retaining the defences it procured at the settlement's conception. The handbuilt walls offer immense protection, and due to it being located on the top of a hill, it would give any potential attackers a very hard time if defended properly. The museum located in Kingshill Bastion, the Archive of Illume, is known to hold a significant number of arcane items and even weaponry, which could be beneficial as defensive or offensive items. Furthermore, one of the buildings located at the castle is a large storeroom, which includes the storage of weaponry and ammunition. The walls surrounding the castle are also defended by several trebuchets and ballistae.
Infrastructure
Throughout the development of Beckinsdale, a large number of mages were hired to improve the town's infrastructure. Significant amounts of transmutation spells have been cast to create the stone roads and walls in and around the town. Beckinsdale is home to the Stoneshifters, a clan of artisans who employ many mages to improve the capability of their production. They are often hired in the town's construction projects, mostly due to their immense efficiency and quality when it comes to constructing buildings.
Beckinsdale has a strong surrounding infrastructure, from the farms on the outskirts of the town to the nearby mines. Once again the Stoneshifters have been useful in the development of Beckinsdale's infrastructure, in using various types of spells to manipulate the earth into being more suitable for farming by flattening it, as well as reinforcing the walls and ceilings of mines to prevent cave-ins.
Much of the quality of the infrastructure in and around Beckinsdale is very high, mostly due to development grants from the monarchy. The roads in and around Beckinsdale are archetypal of Arthuria as a whole, being of large sizes, strong durability, and impressive straightness. Alongside many major walls are the town's scenic aqueducts, as part of a very large and highly complex plumbing system which provides clean and fresh water to all areas of the town, as well as its advanced elements of water infrastructure, such as screw and chain pumps, waterwheels, and wells. Beckinsdale also has a reasonably advanced sewage system spanning the majority of the town's well-off areas.
Arthuria is home to quite an advanced infrastructure used for production. A large series of watermills and windmills were set up at the inception of the town, and many can still be found in the present day. With the expansion of the Langsdale District occurring at a rapid rate, especially after the high immigration to Foven after the War of the Phoenix's end, many examples of Arthuria's emerging technologies began to be utilised in Beckinsdale. This ranges from furnaces and tidal mills, to even a primitive printing press that provides the local newspapers and books. Beckinsdale is home to several buildings and businesses that provide a lot of goods and services to the local populous. While these are usually small and fail to compare to the largest and most well-established organisations, they supplement the local community to a welcoming degree.
Districts
Three districts in Beckinsdale are primarily used for housing. The most affluent residential area, called the Brass District, is located next to the Pearl District and is home to the majority of the wealthy and aristocratic citizens of the town. It was established a short distance away from Kingshill Bastion, near the Hartforte river. The area was once home to the original houses of the Brotherhood of Flaming Dreams, a clan of brass dragonborn who acted as mercenaries for Gertruda Crowe. Over time, as Kingshill began to expand into the town of Beckinsdale, many of the clan members and other wealthy travellers who moved to the area began to prosper, and as such, the area grew into a wealthy residential district.
Surrounding the area between the Brass District and Kingshill Bastion is midtown Mandorla, the largest and busiest residential area, home to the vast majority of citizens in Beckinsdale. Mandorla's housing is of a quite high standard, especially in comparison to the majority of Arthurian towns of similar sizes; the quality is often attributed to the Stoneshifters due to the high quality of the buildings they have constructed and maintained.
Located on the Western side of the Hartforte river is the third residential district known as the Ashes. The Ashes are the town's slums and are only home to the most destitute and squalid individuals. The area was once the original centre of Beckinsdale, however, in the year 43, the area was destroyed by a large fire during an invasion of pirates under the command of the The Empire of Flames during the height of their piracy activity. The destruction of the area was severe, however much of the debris of the structures remain. In its modern state, it acts as housing, however dismal, for the majority of the homeless citizens of Beckinsdale, who are at least able to obtain shelter and protection from adverse weather and the cold in the ruined buildings.
Located on the Eastern riverbank is the Pearl District, an area that mostly consists of government buildings and some offices for particularly large businesses. This district is the base of much of the political decision-making of the town, especially in part due to the various emissaries present. Of particular note is the Elven emissary, which acts as a connecting hub between Tír Na Nóg and Arthuria, especially as Beckinsdale is the nearest settlement to the Elven homeland.
Surrounding the Ashes on the West side of the river is Langsdale, named after Haroldus Langsdale, an entrepreneur who invested heavily in Beckinsdale. The area is a hub of industry, with the majority of manufactured goods being produced there. Raw materials gathered from the local area are sent to factories to be refined into useable forms, whereupon they are either prepared for distribution or use or are sent to other factories to be made into various products. A minimal, yet significant, part of Langsdale is dedicated to arcane manufacturing, from the development of various minor arcane items to the production of certain arcane materials and resources; notably powders and runestones.
Located at the Southern point of Beckisndale is Odel Port, named after the first Grand Admiral of Arthuria Truman Odel. The name was colloquially obtained from the HMS Odel, a ship in the Arthurian Navy that frequently patrolled the waters surrounding Foven, and in particular Beckinsdale. Odel Port is a key Arthurian trading centre in the Chivalier Isles, as it is often where a significant quantity of imports and exports flow through to get to the Western nations in the region.
North Mandorla is a large commercial and trade district, being made up of a large series of interconnected marketplaces, businesses and bazaars. The marketplaces occupy a very large space, and are home to a large number of different types of goods and services, with varying quality and legitimacy. The majority of the centre of the marketplace is a large bazaar, where trade for various goods occurs. Surrounding most of the bazaar is a large ring of mostly high-quality establishments, which offer everything from expensive spellcasting components to first-class weaponry. Compared to much of the rest of Arthuria, there is only a very small market for powerful and exotic magical items, as the economy and the town are too small to sustain any such industry. If powerful arcane goods or services are in demand, they will often be achieved through the patronage of a business in a larger city, such as Spire or Arcanis.
The Divine Sphere is the town's temple district and is characterised by the large amounts of churches, temples, and otherwise religious/spiritual places of worship. The notable diversity of Arthuria means that there are numerous various deities that citizens of Beckinsdale may wish to worship, and this district accommodates such needs for the town and its surrounding area.
Guilds and Factions
Stoneshifters
The Stoneshifters play a major role in the development of the town's infrastructure as they are responsible for the majority of local construction projects, be it large or small. They are based in Panacea Station, a collection of towers and other buildings that act as a headquarters for the business.History
Long before the development of Beckinsale as a town, Kingshill Bastion was constructed in the year 28 by Gertruda Crowe, a wealthy merchant who migrated South from Ourona. While it initially simply served as a homestead for Gertruda and her family, over time she poured her wealth and resources into making the area a well-defended castle to provide safety from her enemies. As her influence grew over Arthuria, many nobles were invited to stay and enjoy the hospitality of the outpost, and over time it began to attract many workers and serfs who began to build homes nearby. During a time of great political instability in the year 31, a large number of the aforementioned nobles claimed themselves to be the rightful monarch of the region, at which point the outpost became known as the rather humorous 'Kingshill Bastion', as it had provided shelter to nine people who all separately declared themselves the one true King.
Kingshill continued to grow into a small town by the end of the 4th decade when it became home to a large number of fishermen who discovered that the area was particularly suitable for fishing and crabbing. An increasingly high amount of homes began being constructed outside of the castle, and as the town continued to grow, several waterwheels were set up along the other side of the Hartforte river to expand the industrial district. The town was officially named Beckinsdale upon the opening of a large expansion to the town's port in the year 43.
Due to being a prominent coastline settlement, Beckinsdale was the target of somewhat frequent invasions from pirate raids. This only increased in frequency with the increasing organisation and combative abilities various pirate factions continuously developed. As such, Beckinsdale has historically almost always been protected by at least one royal navy ship. The ship currently responsible for such protection in the year 98 is the HMS Odel.
In the year 49 the War of the Phoenix caused significant political instability in Arthuria, however much of the conflict failed to have any significant impact on Beckinsdale, as there were no battles in Foven. Despite this, a significant number of citizens in Beckinsdale and the surrounding area were conscripted into battle. Kingshill Bastion acted as a training ground for many soldiers, and Odel Port became an important area for ships in the Arthurian Navy. Upon the conclusion of the war, the town's population had drastically dropped due to the high causality rate. This wouldn't remain for long, however, as Beckinsdale became a prominent location for displaced people who sought to emigrate to a better nation.
Points of interest
Kingshill Bastion
As the origin of the town itself, Kingshill Bastion serves as an inspiring monument to the inhabitants of Beckinsdale. It was built on an eastern hill near the trading districts, making it the highest-located part of the town; a particularly large benefit in previous times of conflict. While it was initially just a simple homestead for the city's founder, Gertruda Crowe, it is now a large and well-protected area, consisting of large, sturdy walls, a grand courtyard, and several buildings. The land is owned by the only living grandchild of the city's founder, Granya Crowe; a mysterious recluse who is rarely seen outside of the bastion's grounds. Since the death of her father, Guenther, Gertruda decided that it was her responsibility to take up her father's and grandmother's legacy and work to improve the town. She dedicated a significant proportion of the castle grounds to become a massive library and museum called the Archive of Illume, which catalogues much of the goings-on in the town. The Archive of Illume The Archive of Illume is best known for containing a library holding a wide array of manuscripts and tomes. While public use of the library is rather high, it is used by the local detective and judiciary forces with a high frequency to gain evidence. It is also highly popular with adventurers and other types of travellers, who often seek to improve their knowledge of spellcasting, monsters, or martial techniques. Highly proficient artisans may also make their way to the Archive to examine various artefacts in the Archive's museum.- ___: One of the largest areas of the archives, containing a great number of books and knowledge. Everything from literature to philosophy, to cookbooks and more, can be found here.
- ___: A wing of the Archive dedicated to books of a magical nature, including spellbooks, tomes of arcane knowledge, and other scripts that are arcane. Much of the potentially dangerous scripts are kept away from the general public, requiring researchers to have special permits or the right documentation to be able to access such scripts.
- ___: An area that contains a massive amount of documents obtained from local businesses and organisations. All registered organisations within Beckinsdale are required to routinely give certain documents over to the Archive, where they will be filed away, and copies will be returned. Some examples of documents required to be handed over include records of expenses, lists of detained criminals, shipping logs, etc.
- ___: The main public area of the museum, which contains a large number of artefacts, from objects relating to the life of Gertruda Crowe to various weaponry and armour recovered from the The War of the Phoenix.
- ___: An area of the museum restricted from the public, containing potentially dangerous items, such as magical or cursed weaponry.
Tourism
Beckinsdale's location makes it a prime area for adventurers and mercenaries to find themselves.
Geography
Beckinsdale is built around a small delta that formed where the Hartforte river reaches the coast. To the north of the area are rolling plains with high-quality soil. This area is utilised by the local farming community to provide all of the food Beckinsdale requires. To the East, there is the ___ forest/woods, which have provided the significant amounts of lumber needed for the town's infrastructure, as well as being a prime target for hunters looking for deer and foxes. Along the coast is a mostly [sand/pebble] beach, where crabbers can frequently be found due to the abundance of crustacean life.
Following the river Eastwards will eventually lead to it meandering past a large cliff face, where the stone is quarried and then ferried downstream towards Beckinsdale. Despite the larger scale of mining operations that take part, only minimal amounts of metals, gemstones, and otherwise desirable minerals have been discovered, meaning that they usually have to be imported from elsewhere if there is a demand for them in Beckinsdale.
Founding Date
17/11/24
Founders
Alternative Name(s)
Kingshill
Type
Town
Population
3,136
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Comments