Deepberth - Revision history

Noctifer at 13:25, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T13:25:26Z

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	\|article= Deepberth		\|article= Deepberth
	}}</includeonly>		}}</includeonly>
	Deepberth is the beating, blood-soaked heart of piracy in the [[Pirate Isles]]: a sprawling harbor-town built vertically up three stony karst towers on the ~~shores~~ of ~~southeastern~~ [[~~Tamerynd\|Island of~~ Tamerynd]]. This ~~narrow~~, ramshackle town is are where fortunes change hands faster than blades are drawn. Murder, deceit, betrayal, and sudden wealth are not aberrations here but the city’s natural weather. A sailor can arrive penniless at dusk, command a crew by midnight, and be floating face-down in the harbor by dawn.		Deepberth is the beating, blood-soaked heart of piracy in the [[Pirate Isles]]: a sprawling harbor-town built vertically up three stony karst towers on the southeastern shore of [[Tamerynd]]. This vertically-stacked, ramshackle town is are where fortunes change hands faster than blades are drawn. Murder, deceit, betrayal, and sudden wealth are not aberrations here but the city’s natural weather. A sailor can arrive penniless at dusk, command a crew by midnight, and be floating face-down in the harbor by dawn.

	Every six years, Deepberth becomes the political center of the pirate world when the [[Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles\|Warcaptains]] gather to debate, amend, and rewrite the Compact... the only law that pirates broadly acknowledge. During these periods, the city becomes even more volatile, as old grudges resurface and new ambitions are forged in blood and rum.		Every six years, Deepberth becomes the political center of the pirate world when the [[Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles\|Warcaptains]] gather to debate, amend, and rewrite the Compact... the only law that pirates broadly acknowledge. During these periods, the city becomes even more volatile, as old grudges resurface and new ambitions are forged in blood and rum.

Noctifer at 03:17, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T03:17:59Z

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	\|terrain = Coastal karst towers		\|terrain = Coastal karst towers
	\|climate = Tropical		\|climate = Tropical
	\|geography = Deepberth is not a city laid upon land... it is a city clinging to stone. Along the southeastern shore of [[Tamerynd\|Tamerynd Island]], three immense limestone karsts rise abruptly from the sea like the broken teeth of some drowned colossus. These karsts form the natural arms of an extraordinarily deep, sheltered harbor, whose waters plunge far beyond the reach of ordinary anchors. It is this abyssal anchorage, it is said able to swallow whole fleets, that gives the city its name. The sea floor drops away sharply between the karsts, creating a harbor so deep that wrecks and bodies alike vanish into blackness within sight of the docks. Some old sailors claim the bottom has never been reached. Though the city is generally protected from the worst of the storms of the [[Pirate Isles]], the climate is wet and plant life verdant... any structure that lasts more than a few weeks either disintegrates from the moisture or grows a thick cover of moss and ivy that, somehow, keeps the buildings of the city clinging to the walls of the three karsts.		\|geography =
			Deepberth is not a city laid upon land... it is a city clinging to stone. Along the southeastern shore of [[Tamerynd\|Tamerynd Island]], three immense limestone karsts rise abruptly from the sea like the broken teeth of some drowned colossus. These karsts form the natural arms of an extraordinarily deep, sheltered harbor, whose waters plunge far beyond the reach of ordinary anchors. It is this abyssal anchorage, it is said able to swallow whole fleets, that gives the city its name. The sea floor drops away sharply between the karsts, creating a harbor so deep that wrecks and bodies alike vanish into blackness within sight of the docks. Some old sailors claim the bottom has never been reached. Though the city is generally protected from the worst of the storms of the [[Pirate Isles]], the climate is wet and plant life verdant... any structure that lasts more than a few weeks either disintegrates from the moisture or grows a thick cover of moss and ivy that, somehow, keeps the buildings of the city clinging to the walls of the three karsts.

	The tallest and most sheer of the three karsts, '''Blacktooth Rise''' dominates the harbor like a jagged fang, its stone face riddled with iron spikes, rope bridges, and cantilevered platforms driven directly into the rock. On calm mornings and rainy nights, the upper levels vanish into mist and smoke. As with the other two karsts of the city, buildings are stacked vertically, five or six layers deep, collapses are common and rebuilding is constant. Blacktooth Rise is where Deepberth’s most dangerous districts climb skyward, built atop ruins, which themselves rest upon older ruins from forgotten ages. Whole floors and carved caves have been sealed off and forgotten, becoming tombs, lairs, or secret routes.		The tallest and most sheer of the three karsts, '''Blacktooth Rise''' dominates the harbor like a jagged fang, its stone face riddled with iron spikes, rope bridges, and cantilevered platforms driven directly into the rock. On calm mornings and rainy nights, the upper levels vanish into mist and smoke. As with the other two karsts of the city, buildings are stacked vertically, five or six layers deep, collapses are common and rebuilding is constant. Blacktooth Rise is where Deepberth’s most dangerous districts climb skyward, built atop ruins, which themselves rest upon older ruins from forgotten ages. Whole floors and carved caves have been sealed off and forgotten, becoming tombs, lairs, or secret routes.

Noctifer at 03:12, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T03:12:09Z

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	===The Veil Market===		===The Veil Market===
	{{:Veil Market}}		{{:Veil Market}}
	\|magick_overview =		\|magick_overview = Magick in Deepberth is present, feared, and deeply distrusted. The city sits atop layers of ruin, bloodshed, and broken oaths, creating a Heka presence that is best described as chaotic and unstable. Heka does not flow cleanly here; it pools, eddies, and occasionally lashes out. Formal spellcasting is rare in public spaces, not because it is illegal, but because overt magick draws attention...and attention in Deepberth is dangerous.
	\|magick_services =
	\|legends =		Practitioners of magick hold influence without authority. Sorcerers, witches, hedge-magi, and occultists are tolerated so long as they are useful, discreet, and careful not to disrupt commerce or violate the Compact. Those who flaunt power tend to disappear. The city respects results, not theories, and mistrusts any magick that cannot be immediately explained in terms of profit, fear, or survival.
	\|magick_phenomena =		\|magick_services = Magickal services in Deepberth are transactional, practical, and morally flexible. Commonly available services include:
			* '''Curses & Hexes:''' Short-term maledictions for luck, sickness, fear, or impotence—rarely permanent unless paid for dearly.
			* '''Wards & Protections:''' Ship-charms against storms, mutiny, fire, or scrying; often unreliable but better than nothing.
			* '''Divinations:''' Reading tides, bones, cards, or drowned entrails to answer narrow questions (routes, betrayals, survival).
			* '''Spiritual Surgery:''' Removal of curses, bindings, or foreign Heka... in practice, dangerous and sometimes worse than the affliction.
			* '''Binding Contracts:''' Supernaturally reinforced bargains, especially through intermediaries tied to the Veil Market.
			True Hermetic or Divine workings are uncommon and usually hidden behind layers of intermediaries.
			\|legends = Deepberth’s sailors and citizens cling to superstition as tightly as to rope in a storm.
			* '''The Harbor Watches Back:''' It is said the deep water beneath the city is aware. Throwing bodies, cursed items, or broken oaths into the harbor without proper rites invites misfortune... usually in threes.
			* '''Never Whistle on the Karsts:''' Whistling atop the stone spires is believed to draw storms or worse. Many swear they have heard a whistle answered from below the waterline.
			* '''The Third Shadow Rule:''' If you see three shadows when casting only one lantern, leave immediately. Something unseen is standing behind you.
			* '''Salt Before Sleep:''' Old dockhands scatter salt at doorways each night. Not for spirits... but to see footprints in the morning.
			* '''Masks Remember Faces:''' Any mask worn during a Veil Market bargain must never be destroyed. Burning one is said to call the Veilkeepers’ attention.
			\|magick_phenomena = Deepberth is plagued by persistent supernatural irregularities. On still nights, some claim that voices rise from the harbor depths, repeating phrases spoken long ago... often accusations or last words. And if you hear song... called the Drowned Echo... the old sailors say you will not live to see another sunset. Worse still, there are credible stories of those called simply "the Returned," individuals believed drowned who reappear days or weeks later, altered, silent or bound to strange compulsions.

			Local Heka is chaotic and sometimes unreliable here, particularly up on the karsts. Some claim there is some rare stone within the karsts that amplify or twist magickal effects, causing castings to misfire, echo or partially manifest later.
	\|military =		\|military =
	\|defensive_structures =		\|defensive_structures =

Noctifer at 02:52, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T02:52:21Z

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	{{:Anchorfall}}		{{:Anchorfall}}
	===Blackwake Ward===		===Blackwake Ward===
	~~The storm-facing edge of Deepberth, the~~ Blackwake Ward clings to the walls of '''Dagon's Horn''', just the other side of the Lower Docks. Ships moored here are generally unfamiliar to Deepberth, either because they are relatively new ventures who have yet to gain a reputation in the city or because they have fallen out of favor with the Warcaptains and are seen as a profitless waste of time. Crews sheltering in Blackwake Ward are desperate and violence in the causeways is common. When storms come to Deepberth, they tend to lash at the Ward hardest, often breaking pieces of it in the winds, spray and high tides. There are some drydocks here, maintained by the Gutter Admirality, and unallied ships can seek repairs here for a steep price... and questionable quality.		{{:Blackwake Ward}}
	* '''The Black Beacon:''' A signal tower at the edge of the Ward, it has long since been abandoned and is believed to be cursed, haunted or both. On dark, stormy nights, someone... or some thing... may light the beacon with an unearthly light.
	* '''The Breaker's Rest:''' A tavern for the doomed, sailors come here to spend their last coin... and, sometimes, their last breath.
	* '''Stormhaul Yards:''' The largest and best-equipped drydocks in the Ward, any vessel can get repaired here... for a price.
	===The Coil===		===The Coil===
	The Coil is a spiraling slum of stacked housing and rope bridges strung between the three karsts of Deepberth. Gang territories here stretch both vertically and horizontally and any stairwell might well lead into a different territory with different rules. There are frequent fires and collapses here, though residents rebuild over the ashes within days of the fires going out. Street urchins are everywhere, almost more common than the hordes of rats that prowl the streets unafraid. Upward mobility is literal... the most powerful gangs rule the highest buildings and the weak are left to struggle and wallow in the damp dregs where everything drips down. The most powerful gang bosses have formed a loose coalition known as the Coil Crowns, mostly as an excuse to enjoy the district's pleasures without having to worry about them killing one another. Sometimes, they organize against some external threat, but such an alliance is brief and rarely finds much success before it falls apart to bickering and infighting.		{{:The Coil}}
	* '''The Burn Run:''' Blackened tunnels through the district, these are ostensibly escape routes from the frequent fires in the district. They are generally kept clear of debris by residence and local gangs, who never know when they might need to use them.
	* '''Crownstairs:''' This rusted iron tower is neutral ground for the gangs here. Barely visible among the buildings and structures that surround it, the Crownstairs are where the gang leaders go to negotiate and argue over the constant slights they perceive.
	* '''The Sky Well:''' An open bazaar at the center of the district, it is a huge, circular area of buildings stacked atop one another from the swampy ground to the sky above. Several waterways, some secret, stretch beneath the Coil ~~from the harbor, with bargemen constantly bringing goods for sale by the vendors here.~~
	===Gallowsreach===		===Gallowsreach===
	~~Once an execution ground,~~ Gallowsreach is now home to killers who prefer privacy. Stretched across the blunted height of '''Gallowskar''', Gallowsreach is what passes for a residential area of Deepberth. Its inhabitants are former pirate captains, killers and assassins of various sorts, some of which have long since 'retired' from their business and others who have come to learn from and join in fellowship with the masters of their craft. The streets are silent at night and are unequivocally the safest in the city. Those few inns in the district are sturdy structures built of stone, with many quiet meeting rooms where deals can be made and death is negotiated. The stone platforms that served as the gallows in some forgotten past still remain here and are viewed by the inhabitants of the district with hallowed (or perhaps unhallowed) reverence.		{{:Gallowsreach}}
	* '''The Hanging Court:''' A meeting place and drinking establishment beneath the old gallows, you can find some of the best liquor and entertainment in her halls.
	* '''The Last Drop Inn:''' A quiet inn near the center of the district, it is neutral lodging for any who can afford it. Even the most hated people in Deepberth can find a quiet, safe night of rest here, for as long as they can afford it.
	* '''The Quiet Rope:''' Part deal-broker, part guildhall, this is where most of the district's active assassins congregate and cooperate in a loose organization for their common weal.
	===The Knife Market===		===The Knife Market===
	~~A sprawling black-market bazaar on '''Gallowskar''' where legality is irrelevant and morality is optional, the~~ Knife Market is primarily composed of narrow alleyways packed with stalls and hidden rooms. Prices fluctuate wildly with rumor, bloodshed and the tides. if something exists (or shouldn't), it has been bought here at some point. Pickpocketing is a constant, as is quiet violence of those powerful enough to take what they want from others. Market rules are ruthlessly enforced here by the Salt Widow Cartel, who's thugs are constantly wandering the alleys in twos and threes, collecting protection money from the vendors hoping to make enough coin to pay them.		{{:Knife Market}}
	* '''The Counting Knots:''' This is currently one of the most significant of many tally-houses in the district where debts are tracked with cord and beads. There is an unspoken agreement to leave these businesses alone and, when that agreement is violated, the locals cooperate to ensure the violator never makes such a mistake again.
	* '''Broken Lantern Row:''' This alley is strangely silent during the day, its vendors only opening their awnings to trade at night. These vendors are the damned and sacrilegious, trading in stolen relics, dark sorcery and heretical texts.
	* '''Hook & Scale:''' An exotic goods dealer specializing in monstrous remains, the Hook & Scale operates under a strict "no questions asked" policy as to the source of the goods traded there.
	* '''The Red Canopy:''' A poison and drug market, these alleyways are covered by permanent crimson awnings and canopies.
	* '''The Whisper Vault:''' Ostensibly a tavern, the Whisper Vault is a series of soundproofed rooms carved into the face of the karst where patrons pay a fee to obtain the rare moment of privacy for high-risk deals and conversations... and more.
	===The Lower Docks===		===The Lower Docks===
	The Lower Docks are the lungs of Deepberth, choked with ships, laborers, and the stink of salt, tar, and blood. Everything entering or leaving the city touches these piers at some point. Power here lies not with captains, but with those who decide what gets unloaded. Sprawling beneath the shadow of '''Dagon's Horn''', the Lower Docks are constantly in motion, day and night, and the noise of men working, cranes creaking and wagons creaking through the narrow streets are ceaseless. The docks are controlled by labor gangs with shifting loyalties who load and unload ships moored there, charging informal tolls and "dock fees" enforced with clubs and fists. Accidental fires and entire sections of the town collapsing into the harbor are not uncommon.		{{:Lower Docks}}
	* '''Brotherhood Hall:''' One of the few semi-permanent structures in the Lower Docks, this is the union hall of the Dockhand's Brotherhood. It operates more as a command center for their operations, particularly when they feel some captain or faction has done them wrong and they're organizing for some payback.
	* '''The Crane Graves:~~''' Collapsed cranes, broken ship pieces and abandoned cargo litter this area at the edge of the~~ Lower Docks~~, often used as hiding places, caches for hidden treasure and ambush points for the unwary.~~
	* '''The Mud Locks:''' Filthy, muddy slips where ships dock for little to no fee. This is one of the few places in the harbor that the sea floor is close to the surface.
	* '''Southchain Piers:''' Heavily guarded unloading docks for valuable cargo. The gangs charge a hefty fee for docking here, but it is well worth the price.
	* '''The Split Bollard:''' A quiet dockside tavern where labor contracts are negotiated and the laborers come for a relaxing drink and some companionship at the end of their shift.
	===The Old Quays===		===The Old Quays===
	Once the main docks of the city, the Old Quays are now crumbling docks and warehouses used by only the most desperate. Cursed and broken ships are towed to the old drydocks here, stripped, burned or quietly hidden away. Situated at the rocky base of '''Gallowskar''', the district is characterized by rotting wood and leaning structures ready to fall into one another. Even when the weather is clear elsewhere, there is often a sickening fog lingering in the air here and the harbor seems eerily calm even during storms. Most common pirates and sailors avoid the Old Quays~~, claiming that the cursed ships towed here leave a palpable, haunted gloominess where shadows move and whisper.~~		{{:Old Quays}}
	* '''The Black Slip:''' The dock where cursed vessels are moored and stripped, their parts cleaned and sold elsewhere in the city... perhaps to become a part of another ship about to find itself subject to a curse.
	* '''The Iron Winch:''' The largest heavy-lift crane in the city, it is typically used for salvage and stripping of the largest of vessels... and, rarely, a monstrous sea creature some ship has killed and towed into harbor for meat.
	* '''Saltbone Warehouse:''' A salvage sorting facility built out of an old, moss-covered warehouse that somehow still stands.
	* '''The Sunk Chapel:''' A half-flooded shrine to forgotten gods, no one truly knows where the entrance to this accursed place lies, but none doubt its presence in the district.
	===Regas' Redoubt===		===Regas' Redoubt===
	One of the few permanent structures in Deepberth, Regas' Redoubt is a mansion built on the ruins of some ancient castle by the city's only retired Warcaptain, Regas Dall. Perched atop '''Blacktooth Rise''', Regas' Redoubt provides for the best view of Deepberth's most powerful resident... and, it is said, the only resident who survived the end of the Third Age and the coming of the Dark Times on Deepberth a century and a half ago. Regas Dall's Ledger is based here and Regas himself rarely descends from his lofty perch himself any more, preferring to work through his agents, spies and strongmen who oversee his fencing operations in the city and abroad. Aged even for a half-elf, Regas is still respected by all of the other Warcaptains... as long as he continues to be useful to their operations. Most believe it is only a matter of time before someone finally topples him from his perch and he, too, finds himself sinking into the bottomless harbor or rotting under some stone sarcophagus in the Tidegrave.		One of the few permanent structures in Deepberth, Regas' Redoubt is a mansion built on the ruins of some ancient castle by the city's only retired Warcaptain, Regas Dall. Perched atop '''Blacktooth Rise''', Regas' Redoubt provides for the best view of Deepberth's most powerful resident... and, it is said, the only resident who survived the end of the Third Age and the coming of the Dark Times on Deepberth a century and a half ago. Regas Dall's Ledger is based here and Regas himself rarely descends from his lofty perch himself any more, preferring to work through his agents, spies and strongmen who oversee his fencing operations in the city and abroad. Aged even for a half-elf, Regas is still respected by all of the other Warcaptains... as long as he continues to be useful to their operations. Most believe it is only a matter of time before someone finally topples him from his perch and he, too, finds himself sinking into the bottomless harbor or rotting under some stone sarcophagus in the Tidegrave.
	===Saltspire Row===		===Saltspire Row===
	Saltspire Row is a vertical riot of taverns, brothels, gambling dens, and fighting pits stacked atop one another up the wall of '''Blacktooth Rise'''. Saltspire Row is where crews spend their shares—and where future disasters are born over cheap rum. Rickety rope bridges and scaffolding span the distance between taverns and there are frequent brawls that spill out into the "streets." Murder tends to be rare (its bad for business), but a body or two is usually discovered in the cracks and crevasses of the district on a weekly basis. Rumors spread faster than venereal diseases here (and the numerous whore houses keep everyone on the same sniffle).		{{:Saltspire Row}}
	* '''The Cracked Compass:''' Though its location has shifted several times as structures collapsed, the Cracked Compass is an ever-present tavern favored by veteran pirates and sailors. It is viewed as neutral ground by most in the city and has even hosted a Warcaptain's Conclave or two in the past.
	* '''Lady Foam's House:''' The most powerful brothel on the Row, Lady Foam's House is owned and operated by Lady Seressa, one of the best-connected information brokers in the city.
	* '''The Pitch Pit:''' The premier fighting pit in Deepberth, only fighters who have proven themselves elsewhere are invited to participate in the competitions here. Though the fights are often bloody, they are rarely fatal and permanent injuries are uncommon... in the end, these fighters are just too valuable to waste on senseless slaughter.
	* '''The Slanted Mast:''' This alehouse is the central meeting place of the Broken Mast Union. Strangers aren't welcome...
	===Tidegrave===		===Tidegrave===
	Located at the back of ''Blackrooth Rise'', beyond the Coil, the Tidegrave is a half-flooded district that serves as both a graveyard and dumping ground for the unnamed dead. The lowest streets are often flooded at high tide and graves are built above-ground to prevent the dead from floating back up. It is said that there are sunken shrines to forgotten sea gods and watery demons alike here, tucked away behind salt-stained tombs and moldy alleyways. There are more than a few stories of those laid to rest here who rose back from their watery graves to prowl the doomed streets of the district.		{{:Tidegrave}}
	* '''The Drowned Steps:''' Stone steps that lead down into the ocean, it is believed these are the ruins of some ritual platform dedicated to some long-forgotten cult of the sea.
	* '''The Listening Pool:''' A tidal basin said to whisper prophecy to those with a talent for hearing. Whatever empowers these dank waters, the revelations they provide often drive men to madness.
	* '''Saltcrypt Row:~~''' Once a graveyard, these stone tombs were looted long ago and have been converted into living spaces for those desperate enough to live there... or those for whom the~~ Tidegrave ~~has become a part of their very soul.~~
	===The Veil Market===		===The Veil Market===
	More a phenomenon than a physical district, the Veil Market appears where it wills and shifts locations throughout the city on some esoteric itinerary. Entrances are well-guarded and participants in the Market are expected to be masked. There is an absolute prohibition on violence here that the place itself seems to enforce on the rare occasion that someone seeks to violate that unspoken edict. The Veilkeepers, masked brokers whose identities are unknown an possibly interchangeable, oversee transactions and enforce the rules, punishing transgressions immediately and absolutely. Reality feels thin here... almost as if the Veil Market exists out of place and time. Those who enter rarely agree on what they saw and some claim they have met people there who claim to be in the back alleys of some other distant city, not in Deepberth at all...		{{:Veil Market}}
	* '''Hall of Lace:''' A vast chamber where contracts are stored. It is said that a contract stored in the Hall of Lace carries with it mystical enforcement of its articles... and woe to any who violate a contract stored in the Hall.
	* '''The Still Stalls:''' It is said the Still Stalls can only be found by accident... or perhaps they know who their clients shall be and invite them. The Still Stalls are characterized by silent merchants with empty stalls, selling intangible goods. Here, it is said, you can buy the intangible... true names, souls bound in contracts, bottled dreams and elixirs for love or reputation or happiness or vengeance... all for a price that may be all too dear.
	* '''The White Threshold:~~''' The most common entry point to the~~ Veil Market~~, this white-stained wooden structure seems to be disassembled and reassembled whenever the Market moves. It is always guarded by silent, helmeted guards that some claim are not entirely human.~~
	\|magick_overview =		\|magick_overview =
	\|magick_services =		\|magick_services =

Noctifer at 02:27, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T02:27:04Z

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	\|locations =		\|locations =
	===Anchorfall===		===Anchorfall===
	These are the central docks of Deepberth, where the Warcaptains (and their guests) put in to port. Nestled against the foot of '''Blacktooth Rise''', Anchorfall is almost respectable compared to the other districts. The city's counting houses are here, storing ill-gotten treasure and semi-legitimate profits. The warehouses are well fortified and the neutrality of the area is strictly enforced by tradition, the will of the Warcaptains and the Anchorfall Combine. Anchorfall ~~features the city's best taverns, cleanest whorehouses and most of its wealthiest (and well protected) denizens.~~		{{:Anchorfall}}
	* '''Goldwake Hall:''' The city's central arbitration chamber, Goldwake Hall is peopled by what pass for judges and barristers in the city. Though they carry no real authority, most who come here for arbitration respect the decisions made because the only real alternative is to resort to violence to resolve disputes. Goldwake is often used for impromptu meetings of the Warcaptains and on the rare occasion that a Warcaptain sits as arbiter, court becomes a spectator sport.
	* '''Ledger Row:''' The warehouse neighborhood of the district, it is characterized by the numerous tangle of cranes used to move goods up and down the vertical causeways and scaffolding. Rarely a day goes by that one of the cranes doesn't break or someone ends up taking a step too far and tumbling to their death.
	* '''The Twelve Vaults:''' The city's main auction houses, most moveable goods brought to the city come through these halls to be bid upon by disreputable merchants who then ship these goods to legitimate ports for sale.
	===Blackwake Ward===		===Blackwake Ward===
	The storm-facing edge of Deepberth, the Blackwake Ward clings to the walls of '''Dagon's Horn''', just the other side of the Lower Docks. Ships moored here are generally unfamiliar to Deepberth, either because they are relatively new ventures who have yet to gain a reputation in the city or because they have fallen out of favor with the Warcaptains and are seen as a profitless waste of time. Crews sheltering in Blackwake Ward are desperate and violence in the causeways is common. When storms come to Deepberth, they tend to lash at the Ward hardest, often breaking pieces of it in the winds, spray and high tides. There are some drydocks here, maintained by the Gutter Admirality, and unallied ships can seek repairs here for a steep price... and questionable quality.		The storm-facing edge of Deepberth, the Blackwake Ward clings to the walls of '''Dagon's Horn''', just the other side of the Lower Docks. Ships moored here are generally unfamiliar to Deepberth, either because they are relatively new ventures who have yet to gain a reputation in the city or because they have fallen out of favor with the Warcaptains and are seen as a profitless waste of time. Crews sheltering in Blackwake Ward are desperate and violence in the causeways is common. When storms come to Deepberth, they tend to lash at the Ward hardest, often breaking pieces of it in the winds, spray and high tides. There are some drydocks here, maintained by the Gutter Admirality, and unallied ships can seek repairs here for a steep price... and questionable quality.

Noctifer at 01:57, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T01:57:16Z

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	{{:Regas Dall's Ledger}}		{{:Regas Dall's Ledger}}
	====The Salt Widow Cartel====		====The Salt Widow Cartel====
	{{:Salt Widow Cartel}		{{:Salt Widow Cartel}}
	====The Silent Ledger====		====The Silent Ledger====
	{{:Silent Ledger}}		{{:Silent Ledger}}
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	====The Veilkeepers====		====The Veilkeepers====
	{{:Veilkeepers}}		{{:Veilkeepers}}
			====The Warcaptains====
			{{:Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles}}
	\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.		\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.
	\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.		\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.

Noctifer at 01:56, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T01:56:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:56, 12 January 2026
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	====The Veilkeepers====		====The Veilkeepers====
	{{:Veilkeepers}}		{{:Veilkeepers}}
	~~====The Warcaptains====~~
	~~{{:Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles}}~~
	\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.		\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.
	\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.		\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.

Noctifer at 01:54, 12 January 2026

2026-01-12T01:54:08Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:54, 12 January 2026
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	{{:Regas Dall's Ledger}}		{{:Regas Dall's Ledger}}
	====The Salt Widow Cartel====		====The Salt Widow Cartel====
	~~The~~ Salt Widow cartel is a matriarchal syndicate specializing in drugs, poisons, and addictive sea-distillates. Their loyalty to one another is fierce and their vengeance against their enemies is surgical. They are the most powerful faction in the Knife Market and operate the dreaded Red Canopy at the heart of the district. Madame Saltren is their matron, an impeccably polite and utterly ruthless businesswoman with connections to most of the Warcaptains. Rumor is that she's not an actual widow at all... that she was the consort of a Warcaptain who abandoned her to move into his estate high atop Blacktooth Rise when he retired.		{{:Salt Widow Cartel}
	====The Silent Ledger====		====The Silent Ledger====
	~~The~~ Silent Ledger are neutral spies and rumor-mongers who sell information but never act on it themselves. Everyone hates them... and everyone pays them. They operate throughout the city, but maintain a quiet front in Gallowreach for those who seek to purchase some knowledge they have obtained. More often than not, the Silent Ledger finds their customers rather than the other way around.		{{:Silent Ledger}}
	====The Red Wake====		====The Red Wake====
	A mysterious group of agitators that rejects profit in favor of terror. Their attacks are theatrical, brutal, and designed to destabilize rivals rather than enrich themselves. They are a recent, but growing faction within the city, most prominent in the Coil and Saltspire Row.		{{:Red Wake}}
	====The Veilkeepers====		====The Veilkeepers====
	~~The~~ Veilkeepers are the masked custodians of the Veil Market. Their true numbers, identities, and allegiances are unknown. What is known is that they are closely allied with the Warcaptain of the Moonless Wake Fleet, [[Maelen Draethe]], who rose to power as a merchant in their Veil Market and still maintains a shop there that she tends to when in port. Some claim the Veilkeepers are not all mortal...		{{:Veilkeepers}}
	====The Warcaptains====		====The Warcaptains====
	~~The loose assembly~~ of the most powerful pirate fleet commanders, these individuals are the closest thing to nobility that Deepberth tolerates. They meet formally only once every six years to revise the Compact, but their informal influence is constant. They rarely agree... but when they do, cities burn and navies drown.		{{:Warcaptains of the Pirate Isles}}
	\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.		\|economy = The economy of Deepberth is predatory, liquid, and brutally efficient. Wealth here is not created so much as captured, converted, and redistributed through violence, leverage, and fear. The city produces little of its own; instead, it thrives by intercepting the wealth of others and laundering it into forms that can be spent, hidden, or reinvested. It breathes by serving those eager to spend their ill-gotten coin on spirits, luck, sex and everything else coin can buy. Coin flows constantly, but stability does not. A single night can see a merchant family ruined, a captain elevated to legend, and an entire district plunged into scarcity or even falling into the ocean itself. Deepberth’s economy does not reward patience... it rewards timing.
	\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.		\|exports = Stolen goods, including foodstuffs, ore, treasure and whatever else the pirates can bring to the city's fences and repurpose with semi-respectable merchants; some pirates will go "respectable" for a while and sell their services abroad as naval mercenaries.

Noctifer at 20:43, 11 January 2026

2026-01-11T20:43:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:43, 11 January 2026
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	{{:Compact Keepers}}		{{:Compact Keepers}}
	====The Crownless Envoys====		====The Crownless Envoys====
	~~More of a profession in the city than an actual organization, the~~ Crownless Envoys are agents of distant, more respectable, powers operating unofficially in the city, gathering intelligence on pirate activity and backing proxy captains against their state enemies. Having a reputation as a Crownless Envoy is seen as more of a deficiency in character than a boon.		{{:Crownless Envoys}}
	====The Dockhands' Brotherhood====		====The Dockhands' Brotherhood====
	~~Ostensibly a mutual-aid society, the~~ Dockhands' Brotherhood is one of the most powerful factions in the Lower Docks, the Old Quays and Anchorfall. They can shut down entire districts by refusing to move goods from the docks to their destination... or by working selectively to support those they favor and harm those that have offended them. Few are powerful enough to court their wrath.		{{:Dockhands' Brotherhood}}
	====The Drowned Choir====		====The Drowned Choir====
	~~The~~ Drowned Choir is a mysterious Tidegrave cult said to be devoted to forgotten sea-spirits or oceanic demons. Members sing their droning songs during high tide rituals as the water overtakes them... some never resurface afterward.		{{:Drowned Choir}}
	====The Gutter Admirality====		====The Gutter Admirality====
	~~The~~ Gutter Admirality are a loose association of failed or deposed captains who still command crews too dangerous to ignore. They dream of reclaiming status... and blame everyone else for their fall. The group has some influence in both the Lower Docks and Blackwake Ward, but aren't organized well enough to pose a serious threat to the factions that run those districts.		{{:Gutter Admirality}}
	====The Knife Saints====		====The Knife Saints====
	Ritualistic killers operating out of Gallowsreach, they believe murder is sacred when performed “cleanly.” Their contracts are expensive... and irrevocable. Most assume they are adherents of [[Cthos\|Cthos the Doomsayer]], god of death, [[Tisiphone\|Tisiphone the Despoiled]], goddess of vengeance, or else [[Empusa\|Empusa, Lady Death]], goddess of poison. Some even whisper that they are cultists of [[Maelphegor\|Maelphegor, the Crimson Wyrm]], Dagonian god of air who has a sect, the Crimson Cowls, who specialize in assassination.		{{:Knife Saints}}
	====The Mayor's Circle====		====The Mayor's Circle====
	~~In a city of criminals and rebels, the rebellious seek authority. The~~ Mayor's Circle are a secret cabal of opportunists attempting to bring law and order to Deepberth... under their apt control, of course. They believe the "pirate city" should be ruled... by them or a proxy of their choosing. They are constantly agitating against the other factions, quietly causing disruptions in whichever faction they feel has brought the most chaos to the city in recent weeks. Those who are even aware of their existence presume that they have some base of operations hidden away somewhere in Gallowsreach.		{{:Mayor's Circle}}
	====Regas Dall's Ledger====		====Regas Dall's Ledger====
	~~This is the common name for the personal commercial empire of [[~~Regas Dall]], the aging half-elven retired Warcaptain that stands as the longest-living survivor of the city. Ostensibly a fencing operation, in truth a web of debts, favors, and blackmail touching nearly every faction in the city. Deepberth has no king... and Regas Dall ensures it, because he hates competition.		{{:Regas Dall's Ledger}}
	====The Salt Widow Cartel====		====The Salt Widow Cartel====
	The Salt Widow cartel is a matriarchal syndicate specializing in drugs, poisons, and addictive sea-distillates. Their loyalty to one another is fierce and their vengeance against their enemies is surgical. They are the most powerful faction in the Knife Market and operate the dreaded Red Canopy at the heart of the district. Madame Saltren is their matron, an impeccably polite and utterly ruthless businesswoman with connections to most of the Warcaptains. Rumor is that she's not an actual widow at all... that she was the consort of a Warcaptain who abandoned her to move into his estate high atop Blacktooth Rise when he retired.		The Salt Widow cartel is a matriarchal syndicate specializing in drugs, poisons, and addictive sea-distillates. Their loyalty to one another is fierce and their vengeance against their enemies is surgical. They are the most powerful faction in the Knife Market and operate the dreaded Red Canopy at the heart of the district. Madame Saltren is their matron, an impeccably polite and utterly ruthless businesswoman with connections to most of the Warcaptains. Rumor is that she's not an actual widow at all... that she was the consort of a Warcaptain who abandoned her to move into his estate high atop Blacktooth Rise when he retired.

Noctifer at 19:05, 11 January 2026

2026-01-11T19:05:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:05, 11 January 2026
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	{{:Black Chart Society}}		{{:Black Chart Society}}
	====The Blackwake Brotherhood====		====The Blackwake Brotherhood====
	~~Shipbreakers, salvagers, and scavengers of cursed or ruined vessels, they are a superstitious and insular group that run the~~ Blackwake Ward. They are rumored to worship something beneath the waves. The Blackwake Brotherhood are either organized under or closely allied with the so-called "Undertow Baron," [[Dartemis Mull\|Warcaptain Dartemis Mull]] of the Bilgehand Syndicate. Mull even maintains a residence in Blackwake and members of the Brotherhood ~~are known to frequent his home when he is at sea.~~		{{:Blackwake Brotherhood}}
	====The Broken Mast Union====		====The Broken Mast Union====
	~~An alliance of sailors and pirates, the~~ Broken Mast Union represents crewmen between ships. They sell loyalty, manpower, and silence to the highest bidder. Their main power base is in Saltspire Row, but they wield no small amount of influence at all of the docks of Deepberth.		{{:Broken Mast Union}}
	====The Chandler's Ring====		====The Chandler's Ring====
	~~One of the longest-running merchant guilds in Deepberth, the~~ Chandler's Ring ~~controls the production of tar, rope, sailcloth and oil in Deepberth. Gang wars and street fights have started over their pricing decisions.~~		{{:Chandler's Ring}}
	====The Coil Crowns====		====The Coil Crowns====
	~~The~~ Coil Crowns are a loose coalition of stairwell lords and gang bosses ruling the Coil. Their leaders wear improvised crowns as symbols of conquered territory and change frequently, as one gang boss or another is assassinated and replaced, often by one of his own lieutenants. More often than not, the organization is just an excuse to gather the powerful of the district for drink and debauchery... rarely do they organize and when they do, it tends to fall apart quickly.		{{:Coil Crowns}}
	====The Compact Keepers====		====The Compact Keepers====
	~~A neutral (and feared) cadre of arbiters, scribes, and enforcers tasked with interpreting and enforcing the~~ Compact. They carry no banners and answer to no single captain. Based out of Goldwake Hall in Anchorfall, they are ostensibly funded by the Warcaptains, but even the Warcaptains are subject to their edicts... when the Keepers~~' enforcers can catch them.~~		{{:Compact Keepers}}
	====The Crownless Envoys====		====The Crownless Envoys====
	More of a profession in the city than an actual organization, the Crownless Envoys are agents of distant, more respectable, powers operating unofficially in the city, gathering intelligence on pirate activity and backing proxy captains against their state enemies. Having a reputation as a Crownless Envoy is seen as more of a deficiency in character than a boon.		More of a profession in the city than an actual organization, the Crownless Envoys are agents of distant, more respectable, powers operating unofficially in the city, gathering intelligence on pirate activity and backing proxy captains against their state enemies. Having a reputation as a Crownless Envoy is seen as more of a deficiency in character than a boon.