Along
the
banks, where the Nesser
turns sharply west, then
South, then East again, lies the home city of the Celadon. The
riverbanks are
high here, where ages of swiftly moving water have slowly eroded and
smoothed
the limestone face of the bank. Rising above the bank, is a great wall,
as if
grown from the rock below, smooth and seamless, curving up from the
waters
edge. Its tall crenellations curved and smoothed, as if shaped and
formed by
the waters touch. Bright Green
Pinions fly from its walls, and patches of ivy coat the lower
reaches.
The
sleepy
city of Selid-Din
is the most racially diverse city in all of Oerth.
It
simple design is breathtaking in its natural beauty. Extraordinary
pains were
taken to preserve the natural beauty and limit the impact on the
surrounding
forest and river.
The city
itself covers many more times the expanse of other cities, but is less
populated. Within the walls, even a deer might fearlessly wander,
protected by
the laws
governing hunting. Birds fly free, darting amongst the trees.
Squirrels and other small creatures look on from the many parks and
green areas
watching who comes and goes. And unlike other cities, the offal of the
city is
carefully managed, not thrown out windows into the street but into
sewers
to the south, by purifying wetlands, which gently and naturally recycle
the city's
waste.
History
Trade
Leadership and Rule
Population
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The mile long approach to Selid-Din from the outer forest to the city gates appears deserted except for normal travelers to and from the city. In the woods all around the approach is a group of Baehr-Gur angels (5 in total – see Book of Exalted Deeds). These angels are summoned every year to protect the approach. They will se their detect evil and sense abilities to determine if any threats are approaching. Should they determine there is a threat, the communicate this to the Gate Captain immediately.
There is a hill just to the North of the city that has a variety of different, scary looking trees upon it. This is a prison where prisoners are polymorph into trees and a plaque is put in front of the tree outlining their offense. The tree’s are guarded by many Shambling Mounds and a Treant who will only act if someone defaces, tried to free or harms the trees. In addition, this area is warded by protections of the Warden of Selid-Din (Court Mage of Sparhawk).
Approaching the Gates travelers must pass a Checkpoint. This “Welcome Station” is a tent manned by City Officials in the form of scribes who record information as well as sketch visitors. These sketches and descriptions are filed with the Minister of Defense Regents office as well as the Bardic Libraries. The Herald will question all persons entering the city as to their name, City, Race, God, Nationality and intent in the city. The answers to these questions determine whether the person is “welcome” in Selid-Din. See “Walls of Selid-Din”
Stone of Questioners - All Questioning is done on a Stone of the Questioners (a gift given for cities generosity to Shrine of St Sunniva – cost city 100,000gp in the lands for the Shrine). The stone is a 1 ft thick stone tablet 10ft sq made of living white granite. This stone will cause all evil that steps on it (no protections if willingly steps) to leave prints of smoldering black.
A newcomer to the city must stop in wondrous awe at the majesty of the old oaks that line the boulevard, their strong and reaching branches crisscrossing overhead before spreading to the sky. Shafts of crystal sunlight penetrate the leafy canopy overhead like bright beams of brilliance lighting up the green paths. The paths themselves, stone and grass, intertwined, so that one always steps on enough stone not to harm the grass and yet there is a soft spring in the step.
The Cairns are fully described on the link. In addition, low level magistrates (Druid 1st level) are on hand to explain the laws and customs to new comers. They often tend to explain the reason behind the law instead of technicalities. See “Cairns of Law” for the actual Laws.
The horns of the Shield Knights are often heard in the city coordinating military forces. Through these horns, a series of standard battle commands can be executed, coordinating forces citywide.
The streets are well lit thanks to the Lights of Shammash. These lights are designed with a series of colored glass covers that any mounted person can easily reach. It is illegal to touch or misrepresent the usage of these colors/items.
Normally, the lights are white…but should someone change the color all wall guards will automatically notice and anyone with a Spot Check DC15 in the city will notice the change in hue. Some of the colors are used to track the movements of City officials (the Regent, Bishop and Supreme Magistrate on call).
In addition to raising the mighty walls around the Protectorate, the First Citizen Ligurius also set special protections around the walls of the city. These Wards of Warning are spaced so they form a contiguous and somewhat overlapping circles around the walls approx 300 ft apart (they are 800ft radius from the center). The contingency for them to attack is “All those welcome by the Regent may pass” The following is cast at 20th level.
Ward of Warning: This sphere is a 20ft radius per level of the Druid (but may be smaller) and may be visible (as a blue shimmering) or not at caster's desire. It causes x2 the casters wisdom in Lordsfire damage each round spent inside, no To Hit or save required. It will automatically deflect damage at x8 the casters wisdom in Lordsfire for each attack. It may be taken down by a Wish, Miracle, or Sin spell cast upon it. It normally lasts 1 day/level but may become permanent if the caster expends 2500xp. Either way, the casting exhausts the caster (loses 6 levels immediately through exhaustion, recovers the levels normally) and must make a Concentration Check for every spell cast until fully rested (DC15+spell level).
On the Astral Plane and Ethereal plane there is a Githyank Corrack Vessel (See Manual of the Planes). The Corracks both patrol the Astral and Ethereal planes hunting for Mind Flayers. The Mind Flayers are constantly trying to destroy the Screaming Griffon Fellowship in Selid-Din thus the hunting is very good. They usually capture or kill 3-5 Mind Flayers per season. The Githyanki patrolling will not approach anyone with no psychic energies. However, those with psychic energies (psionics, drones) will be investigated and likely attacked. If non-Mindflayers will face only the Corrack and 50 or so Githyanki. Mind Flayers will face a more substantial force gated in right away.
The following are protections that have been put in place that cover the entirety of the city proper:
The Bells of Blessed Ishtar are used in the announcement of two Holy Rituals. The sacrament of marriage (see separate section in Church) and the sacrament of war. The Bell was forged by Sultan’s School as the Bishop Beatrice commissioned it and spent a good deal of her personal and her church's resources over 3 years.
Marriage: When the bell is rung slowly this means a marriage has just taken place. Anyone copulating within 24hrs of hearing that bell has a 25% chance to impregnate. If both participants heard the bell it is 35% chance.
Battle: When the bell is rung repeatedly and rapidly this is a sign of war. The Bell has the following affects:
The city mobilizes as listed below when it is aware of war (i.e. Bell or other indicator) as follows:
Intelligence gathering is taken very seriously. A variety of sources all feed into one central repository…Bas….whether they know they are feeding him information or not. ;)
The Druids have established several groups of animals that probe the woods and surrounding lands approaching the city and forest. These include intelligent hawks, bears, raccoons, wolf packs, eagles and the like. There are also various intelligent plants and fauna that send information back as well. Bas has several plants in various Druid's personal repertoire that collect this information and pass it along.
Small groups of rangers patrol the forests. While they provide little in the way of info within the city proper, they are a solid source if information from within the forest proper. These groups are guided by the Tree and also have standard patrol routes. They report directly back to the Great Druid but share their information with the Regent's Officers. Bas has several plants within the Regent's scribes offices to collect this data.
Other sources of intelligence include:
