Ginsar

## History

The settlement known as Ginsar has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over many centuries, having at times been the seat of decadent primitive societies, a fractured battleground for upjumped kings, and the seat of a budding but ill-fated empire that never ventured beyond their own island. With full access to the Pellinack River, Ginsar enjoys a seat of power over all other settlements on the island as a hub of trade and the only owners of the routes used to pass over or around the Pellinack. When barges and bridges ferry passengers and cargo over or down the waterway, Ginsar always gets its cut.

All this and more will pass the locals’ lips as they sing of what mighty Ginsar once was and could be again. Anything to ignore its current state.

Modern Ginsar is nothing less than a hive of debauchery, ruled by three powerful crime organizations and their mysterious patron, the Underboss. Though its technology and buildings are relatively up to date compared to other settlements on the island, the strangling grip that the crime organizations place on the city stifles any real progress. Each organization works within the city to provide various services suited to a den of vice and sin, holding themselves to a tenuous peace in order to facilitate mutual profit.

## Geography

With prime positioning along the Pellinack River, Ginsar is blessed to have an abundance of natural resources at its disposal. Tributaries, creeks, and streams too small to appear on any map dot the landscape west of the city, providing yearly floods and recessions that irrigate and fertilize the plains and marshy areas outside the town gates. Such an environment makes the land an excellent candidate for farms and livestock, which feed the city and its surrounding smaller settlements.

Further to the west, the Primaius Peaks tower over the landscape, providing natural shelter from eastern ocean weather and an abundance of precious minerals beneath the surface. Small hubs and worker’s camps dot these peaks, each working to haul their scores down the slopes and back to the city proper.

To the east of the city lies the Vale of Agglo, a dense and untamed forest teeming with the ruins of settlements long past. It is said that even now, mischievous and evil spirits haunt the ruins and inner groves of the forest, becoming angry at any who dare to encroach on their territory. It is for this reason that Ginsar limits its resource gathering from the Vale to only the furthest outlying regions, while planting new trees and greenery in their wake lest the spirits be provoked into retaliation.

## Inhabitants

While the Ginsars of the past have at times been supremacist or isolationist nations of many stripes and creeds, modern Ginsar has no such strictures. The city’s society has been deliberately designed to attract as many customers and visitors of all origins in order to make as much profit as possible. This business-oriented view of population dynamics has left Ginsar rudderless when it comes to actual integration of the various cultures that reside in or visit. Instead, Ginsar natives tend to stay in businesses and areas associated with the crime organizations with which they are most often associated.

As a result, Ginsar has a melting pot of various races and cultures contained within it, with isolated pockets of traditionalist sectors of the city viewing outsiders as intruding upon their turf if they’re present for anything but business.

### **Prominent Crime Organizations**

#### **Carnal Caravan**

The crime organization with jurisdiction over prostitution, narcotics, and non-gambling entertainment (such as theater, bards, etc.). The Carnal Caravan works to ensure a steady supply of flesh, drugs, and mirth for Ginsar. They are the only organization which sponsors schools specializing in their chosen fields, offering education at a price for those who wish to acquire skills in each of said fields. The price for such an education is often a period of work and contribution to the businesses of the Caravan. These obligatory work periods never exceed 5 years, and as a result many prospective students complete their service agreements without incident. Adhering to Ginsar’s strict anti-slavery policy, the Carnal Caravan does not trade in the trafficking of sentient creatures for any purpose, and actively stamps out any reported attempts at doing so, considering it their primary duty in exchange for the power afforded to them.

They are led by the human male Ventigo Varro. This information is **not public knowledge**, requiring a DC 50 Knowledge (Local) check to learn, and a further DC 50 Diplomacy check to convince the source of said information to not rat out the inquirer(s). On a failure of the Diplomacy check, Ventigo Varro becomes aware that the character(s) participating in said check are looking for him, and his initial attitude is negatively shifted by one step towards them (Indifferent to Unfriendly, for example).

For every individual person assisting in such a check, the DC of the Diplomacy check rises by an equal amount (Using assistance from a team of Lackeys, which is made up of 5 individuals, for example, raises the Diplomacy DC by 5).

#### **Torciamo**

The crime organization with jurisdiction over gambling, laborers, and contracts. Torciamo employs creatures of all races into their ranks, so long as they pledge loyalty to the organization’s maxims. All casinos, street games, and other forms of gambling fall under their purview, and they maintain this control with deadly swiftness should any threats arrive. They are also tasked with ensuring a steady supply and satisfaction level of the laborers within Ginsar’s supply chain, at times relieving tensions, and other times inflaming them when harder work is required. Generally, they prefer the carrot to the stick in this regard. Finally, Torciamo maintains the legal system propping up the laws of Ginsar, such as they are, and enforces the fulfillment of contracts, including those that benefit their rivals in the other organizations. Such is the price they pay to the Underboss for their continued power.

They are led by the goblin male Don Massimo and his inner circle of companions. Don Massimo’s name and position are considered public knowledge, though his location at any given time is not. As this location is on a strictly need-to-know basis, it is impossible to acquire information on his current location unless one is talking to a higher ranking member of Torciamo or another NPC who would reasonably know about it. (This is subject to GM discretion on who counts or doesn’t.)

When attempting to extract said location, a DC 70 Diplomacy or Intimidate (Player’s choice) check must be rolled. Success on either roll grants the inquirer Don Massimo’s current location and which of his inner circle are attending to him at that time. This information remains true for a single in-universe week, after which point Don Massimo moves again.

#### **Sparagmos**

The crime organization with jurisdiction over protection, blood sports, and festivities. Members of Sparagmos are renowned and feared for their ferocity in combat, opting to punish by example when debts, monetary or otherwise, go unpaid. Sparagmos runs gladiatorial duels, animal fighting rings, and street fights throughout the city at designated locations, charging premiums for entry and collaborating with Torciamo for their betting operations. When it comes time for the holidays, Sparagmos often plays the part of security and organizers, facilitating the shows and businesses of the Carnal Caravan. Members of Sparagmos are the most likely to worship Evil deities, such as Zon-Kuthon or Norgorber.

Many members of the City Watch were once part of Sparagmos or worked closely with them, explaining their robust training. Though the loyalty of Watch members now extends only to the Underboss themselves, rumors abound of preferential treatment, in spite of evidence to that effect.

They are led by the human male Harkford Malakor. Believing in strength over all else, Harkford has no respect for those he perceives as weak, discarding their beliefs readily should any wavering in convictions be shown. He draws no distinction between sources of strength, believing that intellectual pursuits such as magic, stealth, and scholarly studies each have their place within the definition.

Both his name and location are typically public knowledge, as he sees little reason to fear any particular resident or other organization within the city. While the easiest to find, he is the most distrusting of outsiders and foreign influences, desiring the current state of affairs to continue.

#### **The Underboss**

The mysterious patron of Ginsar’s current ruling body of crime organizations, the Underboss is not so much a person as they are an institution, spoken of only with trepidation and wariness even when necessary. The Underboss is responsible for designating which crime organizations may operate within Ginsar and which different aspects of crime each has jurisdiction over. Breaches of the Underboss’ wishes in this regard often result in outlier organizations being declared “Impolitique”, resulting in a purge of every member of said organization, down to the last member or associate.

Threats of such magnitude keep the organizations in line, with members of the City Watch constantly reporting on the state of affairs within Ginsar through the Underboss’ contact methods.

Their name, gender, age, sex, location, and abilities are all closely guarded secrets. Only the current leaders of the Carnal Caravan, Torciamo, and Sparagmos know the Underboss’ presented identity at any given time, and even then, they cannot be certain that they are not speaking to an Underboss who has replaced the one known to the previous leaders or not.

As this is highly classified information known only to three NPCs at any given time, GMs are free to set DCs to learn this information as they deem appropriate, but must do so through the given NPCs.

The Underboss’ true identity is kept ambiguous on this page for GM use

## Religion, Magic, Technology & Military

### **Religion**

Ginsar lacks any official religious practice, having long shed any attempts to enforce or emphasize one over any other. The theological state of the city can best be described as a clusterfuck, with different districts and pockets of worshippers for nearly every deity. That being said, the majority of the city’s inhabitants worship various Neutral deities such as Abadar, Calistril, or Nethys, while members of the crime organizations tend to favor Norgorber or Asmodeus. Demon, Fey, and Daemon worship is looked down upon heavily, and stamped out by rare mutual agreement of the city’s governing bosses.

### **Magic**

Magics which favor stealth, mind manipulation, and illusion are the most popular among those capable of spellcasting within the city, with the rare mage who prefers direct methods of problem solving present for times where discretion is not required.

### **Technology**

While Ginsar has no organizations or guilds dedicated to the development of unique technology, their tendency to receive visitors from near and far has left them more informed of modern technology than other settlements, even if they do not always possess the means to recreate or supply it. Thus, many examples of modern building methods and conveniences exist within the city, maintained by a select few skilled workers supplied by the Underboss in an effort to maintain standards seen as necessary for income generation.

### **Military**

Ginsar possesses no unified standing army, instead drawing any martial strength required from the numerous and powerful members of the crime families, who are only called into service by the Underboss when deemed absolutely necessary for the continued survival of the city. Though there is no army to speak of that is loyal first and foremost to the city itself, Ginsar does possess a notoriously powerful and grizzled City Watch. Decades of settling disputes between the families and acting as a neutralizing force should conflict arise have left them with vast swathes of experience to draw from.

## Law & Crime

Though the idea of such a debauched city having a consistent legal code may cause some to scoff or laugh, Ginsar maintains a sort of organized chaos over itself, enforced through the cooperation of the organizations. Each law or practice enforced in the city is designed to maximize both visitation and profit for the city. Though this is not an exhaustive list of all laws, these are a few of the most prominent:

##### **“Stay In Your Pen”**

This law refers to the requirement that all sanctioned criminal activities within the city’s walls and outlying areas must be within the purview of the organization running said activities. As one example, members of Sparagmos cannot run a brothel, because that is the Caravan’s purview, though they may provide the muscle required to protect the prostitutes, as protection is their purview.

##### **“Slavery Is Outlawed”**

The bottom line that each organization has reached is thus. Slavery is bad for business. The overwhelming majority of neighbor nations and settlements do not engage in it and are disgusted by it. Fewer people visit crime-stricken areas that practice slavery for fear that they themselves may become its next victims, sweeped off the street and into a brothel or gladiator arena. Rather than any moral compunctions with the institution of slavery, Ginsar simply sees it as a liability for their profits. Practices which are not technically slavery but which produce similar or identical effects to it over a period greater than five years are treated as if they were slavery.

##### **“I Am Responsible”**

Ginsar does not accept excuses for violations of their codes, laws, or cultural practices. An individual is assumed to reflect only themselves in their actions unless the larger collective is equally or excessively implicated alongside them.

##### **“No One Is Above The Watch”**

The City Watch are considered the direct subordinates of the Underboss and are therefore thought of as extensions of their will. Their authority is absolute in all matters related to the city, unless such a decision would be made by the Underboss themselves. In times where members of the Watch have their loyalty called into question or are shown to be corrupt, the Underboss typically handles said errant Watch members themselves (by killing them).