Lod

Ruler: Known only as the Suzrein

Religious Ruler: Known as only as the Black Cardinal.

City Spell: Shroud of Secrecy - cannot reveal through action or inaction anything that is known about the city of Lod (including its name) to anyone who doesn’t already know it. Cloaks the city from detection by psionic and magical means. No scrying into Lod is possible. Any divination spells cast will fail if the name Lod appears anywhere in the casting or mediation of the spell or magic. All other divinations, if cast in the city, are mediated by the Master of Secrets - a vasal of Moghedian.

Exports: Chocolate, Coffee, items of luxury

Imports: weapons, everything except food.

Description

City looks like a normal low walled city. Central part of city has eight block long buildings that are four stories tall. Each houses a hundred families in apartments. Similar buildings in smaller numbers act as hubs of other districts. Usuually sourounded by several houses of smaller size.

Districts: the city is divided into secret districts. Each district is ‘managed’ by a Hierarch who is responsible for managing the secret goings on of that district. Each district has their own temple and their own secret goings on – whether they be rituals or other dark secrets.

A major role of the city is to promote trade that will benefit the causes of evil throughout Oerth. Weapons traffic is common, as is the humanoid slave trade (whether they realize they are slaves or not), as well as the spread of arcane knowledge and magical evil items that might be used to enact more destruction and evil throughout the world. Thus, Lod is a bargaining place for traders dealing in illicit or devilish goods. Many come here to keep their transactions shrouded in secrecy.

Coins

All trasactions within the city must be done in Loddish coins. Loddish coins are minted as per the Mardukian rituals and the coins have the following effects: all transactions made with exchange of at least 50 coins are secret. Coppers and silvers are the most common Loddish coins. Entrance into the city requires the petitioner to sell all of their food and drink (liquor excluded) to the city. (there are sellers of old nearly rotten food outside the gates – with exorbitant prices!). Guards will be sure the petitioner recieves at least 50 Loddish coins in the transactions.

Customs:

All must observe religious services. A beholder is often released that will float about the city while services transpire. There are grave punishments for any whom do not come out and kneel and pay homage during services.

Any entering city are required to wear robes or facial coverings. All distinguishing marks or items must be hidden or covered.

All non-citizens are required to wear coverings when in public.

All transactions within city can only be made with Loddish coins.

Upon entrance to the city, travelers must sell all of their food to the city at the city gates.

They are paid in Loddish coins. If travelers have no food, they must sell something to the city. The reimbursement is usually far below the worth of the item(s) and always paid in Loddish coinage.

The Forsaken Church will reward anyone bringing an “enemy of the Dark One” (good aligned person)

as a human sacrifice. Rewards include spells that can be placed in spell books (from any school ),

scrolls, drinking from a cup that can raise a physical stat, a magical item,

or even drinking from the central fountain which will raise a character by one level.

Sappatu

Only seen on Sappatu during services, a giant Beholder fills the sky and mass terror is caused. All within the city are forced to attend and kneel. Any who do not are attacked. The services held at Forsaken Church are overseen by the Black Cardinal. At these rituals, good creatures are publicly sacrificed to the Dark One while there are many sacrifices of hooded people who are condemned to die in secrecy. During the sacrifice, all of the victims stats are first drained to 1 independantly, levels are sucked out, and lifespan is drain (creature is aged to within a moment of death). At the moment of sacrifice, there is also an attempt to suck the soul of the individual with the soulswallowing executioners axe. These drained stats, levels, and life force are used as components of items or to feed some of the more nasty creatures living in Lod. – Wisdom goes to feed some of the lamia nobles, years are sapped away into crystals for the Loddish bards to consume in their sorceric enterprises, etc. Due to the mass drainings, the blood of the victims is very thick and congealed. Often the leftover carcasses are used in the making of zombie golems. (qv. scarred lands book)

Bards of the Nightshade, Loddish Bards

Members of the Cult of the Hand and the Eye – clerics of the dark one, part of the forsaken church. All have either a hand or an eye missing – in hopes that they will one day find, and bear, one of the Dark Ones appendages.

All posts in the city are manned by men warped by the powers of the Dark One - given dark powers and wholly evil.

Places/Attractions

Suzreins Palace

Sewers - spider eyed goblin – pets, also roaming freeundead ooze –

Graveyard in Lod **Memory eaters – loked in ad dying to get out through the fences

Nightshade’s Wizards Chessboard – Played in the park with life size pieces. There are always several wealthy and bejeweled magical looking items sitting on the opposite side of the chessboard. Play against an unknown robed figure. you stand in the place of the king and anyone who wants to get to the other side must be in the place of a piece. If the piece dies, the person dies. If the other king dies, pieces may move unfettered and cross the board. Kings have telepathy with all of their pieces (granted by the crown). The sole goal of the dark figure is to kill off people and not necessarily to win the game. If you get to the other side you get the items sitting there - usually the possessions of those good people sacrificed.

Wall of the Unwanted

names and faces of people whom the Dark One considers pallpable enemies. includes the Lord Soothra, Archbishop Al'vere, all of the Champions of Sophora.

The Great & Grand Druid, Kothlun,

Slarecian Library –protected by slarecian gargoyles, slarecians hidden from rest of world here

Open Air Market

Due to Mardukian miracles cast at market, characters must make will saves at DC 17 or spend 10% of their wealth on hand.

Unusual Items sold:

Bottle imps

Nightsingers p142 (erie song & halucinatory poison)

Serpent root

Devils Food Cake: must make will save DC 16 or become addicted to the cake. eating the cake makes one lethargic for 1 day.

Devil's Latte: increases intelligence by 1 for 1d6 hrs (to max of +3), for each dose taken in a day, will lose 4 hours of rest.

Black market babies

Underground Market

Items sold:?

- Inns –

Staying in an Inn incures a 10% chance of encountering an Inn Wight

Inn of Lost Souls

The Dark Lords Hostel
Fleshharrower's Den
Kremhalan's Traders Guild Tavern

Lion's Gate Inn & tavern