Alora

The society on *Animar* is actually a moderately sized town on the verge of becoming a city. It currently holds ~6,000 denizens and hosts many otherworldly travelers that come in and out of the world due to the portals. The town is small enough that there can be competition among guilds and services while it’s also easy to make note of those who run most notable places. It’s almost common that one might clash with a business owner and be unable to find their wares elsewhere if one were to try and boycott them otherwise. The town is not very industrial and processed goods can be difficult to come by for they’re primarily acquired through planar traveling means leading to greater commerce, but sometimes at a hefty cost.

Roughly ~25% of the population came of their own volition from their home planes. The rest appeared here through some sort of mysterious origins such as a failed experiment or divine intervention, but decided to stake it as a new home. Others believe that their lives beforehand are simply forfeit and embrace a restart. However, many that have come to this place seek to return back to their home world. Creatsdfures of many exotic races can be found here which initially caused a problem with communication. As time progressed, the forming communities decided that common would be best for translation. There are however some folk who exclusively speak their native tongue and have no interest in learning common.

**Agriculture** Otherworldly wares are constantly flowing throughout the city because of the chaotic nature of the portals. Due to this, agriculture has seen little innovation which farming problems typically result in catastrophe for the well-being of the city. Additionally, plots produce 10x the yield as a plot in another world would normally offer. This allows for much smaller plots to sustain large populations.

**Commerce** There is a relatively sized marketplace in Alora for all to partake. The diverse nature of the city and access to other worlds enables the markets to carry all manners of goods from common trade stock to exotic riches. There is little raw resources available in the city due to the dangerous nature of Animar which results in significant trade with other worlds when portals are available.

**Hygiene** The hygiene of the city is generally poor because it lacks the sustainable means in this regard. This is mostly due to being a developing town and the anomalies of Animar rather than society being simply unclean. Animar occasionally shifts geography and its natural disasters disallow traditional methods that promote healthier lifestyles. There are many who are combating this problem, but the current state of affairs are not the greatest. Dead are dumped in the river, which raises the suspicions of some that they’ve become sick due to this. The town initially buried their dead, but Animar’s magical landscape reanimated them as undead which resulted in other means of disposing the dead. A home with a private bath and restroom is reserved for nobility. Commoners have shared locations to partake in these. Some suspect that the communal nature of the town with their bathes, toilets and food are the cause for most of the town's sickness.

**Roads** The government places colored flags along the pathways around town. This is an outdated technique of identifying where one is while traversing Alora’s roads. As such, the roads are nameless and instead refers to the colors of the banners when directing someone. It’s also common to infer upon the road’s material as to allow for multiple instances of directions, albeit it can sometimes be confusing. For example, one would navigate a lost person by saying “follow the red cobblestone until the blue/purple split, but take the blue path until you reach the red dirt road.”. The government is rumored to have plans to update their identification of roads, but hasn’t announced anything yet.

**Size**  To travel around Alora in a full circle on foot would take 8 hours, or a full day of traveling. It takes 4 hours to travel half of the circle, or 3 hours if you were to utilize the town center's paved roads. This is mainly due to Alora’s landscape in its wildly mountainous and rigid elevations. Taking a Wearybane taxi is common for those with long distances with timesake and to stave exhaustion which reduce the full circle travel to 4 hours or 1 hour for a half circle travel utilizing the town center's paved roads. These taxis are generally available most of the time in each concentration of houses and services.

## Areas of Interest

### Businesses & Services

**Alora’s Husbandrys** A series of farmsteads that act as independent crop and other farm goods businesses. The competition is fierce between the farmers which ironically results in very little innovation for the farms due to each of them having a sort of monopoly over a certain product or set of products. The farmstead are littered throughout the town and are nowhere in abundance.

**Banshee’s Wail** A shop that exclusively sells masks and attire for the trail of tears festival. Can be found in the Emporium. It is ran by a black-skinned lizardfolk named Draquik.

**By Hammer & Hand** The only smithy in town. Most of its jobs are commissioned through the Stonesons guild, but it offers its services to anyone with enough coin. It occasionally experiences periods of closure due to having no materials to work with until planar trade occurs.

**Charm Depot** A shop dedicated to procuring an absurd amount of charms for all to use. It can be found in the Emporium. Most of the charms are mundane in nature, but there are a few effects that an adventurer would find useful in various situations. The charm shop rotates their stock of charms every day. Their shopping culture is very strict in that they do not take requests or process refunds. The shop is run by a couple of twin siblings (Yuan-Ti Pureblood) wizards named Esta (Female) and Eztu (Male).

Every day the players visit, they can shop from three random different charms on the *Homebrew Charms* list. Each charm bought this way costs ~10-50g. Alternatively, they offer a lottery system where you can acquire a random charm for 10g.

**Imperial Athenaeum** Alora’s most notable collection of knowledge containing many tomes, books and scrolls. Whenever one wishes to learn of something, primarily of other worlds, this is the first place that comes to mind. The business thrives on serving its knowledge in the form of membership with renewable fees. It is safeguarded by a private circle of wizards who are suspected of holding dangerous lore out of mere superstition. The athenaeum is known to be interested in any piece of knowledge one might acquire while traveling to other worlds. They also notably provide a translation service for a fee which has proven helpful given the diverse races in Alora.

**Kazumi’s Shop** The already known planar merchant *Kazumi* has staked a presence in Alora at the Emporium. She is the source that the players will be able to procure any magical item they can think of. It should be noted however that she is mostly absent except for purchases of Rare or higher rarity. Her shop is tended to her pack of gremlins which were rumored to have been tested at one point by a robbery, but nobody can prove it because they suspect the gremlins ate the robbers.

Kazumi's Shop notably contains various runes from the *Soul Runes* system. Their stock of runes rotates frequently, but will primarily only offer what unlocked knowledge the group has acquired as they contain little knowledge on these items. If inquired, they also sell the apparatus designed by *Razvahn* to extract souls and convert them into runes.

**The Nether** An unusual service that is ran by a half-demon who procures contracts in exchange for wishes. The owner isn’t the most powerful pact demon, but he’s no pushover either. As such, there are limits to his power unless significant catalysts are provided. The government is heavily scrutinous towards this shop and have imposed laws that he cannot form contracts in exchange for slavery, ownership of life or one’s own life. Note not all contracts require permanent loss. For example, a notable bargain was when a craftsman wished to work twice as fast, but had to temporarily give his eyesight and was made a laughing stock when outside of his workshop. List of ideas for contracts.

The Nether is ran by a male red-skinned half-demon tiefling named Aganoth, although it is relatively known that is probably not his real name. If inquired, Aganoth desires to travel to the Underworld and awaits for an opportunity with the Portal Bureau.

**Tipsy Star** A barely passable shop that runs on the first floor of the owner’s home located in the Emporium. The shopkeep spends their time planar traveling in search of all manners of spirits to bring back to Alora for sale. As such, there are all manners of liquor, ale, mead, whiskey and so on to be found. Some even have magical properties. The shop is also known to carry limited stock of various potions from time to time when trade proves bountiful.. It is ran by a dwarf named *Therdren Coarsethroat*. List of ideas for magical drinks.

### Groups

**Pathfinder Guild** A recent upbringing of adventurers who are only a small band of moderately trained fighters and rangers. They dedicate their efforts to pushing Alora’s borders further, but are prohibited from going outside of a perimeter specified by the government. Most of their work involves the interest of tradesmen and craftsman where they try and prospect regions around Alora for natural resources.. The guild islead by a female Minotaur named Xarzgol.

**Portal Bureau** A government building dedicated to regulating those who desire to enter portals and those who come into the town through planar portals. The government attempts at cataloging all planar visitors and requests the cooperation of citizens for security. It also functions as an immigration and emigration office for whenever travelers wish to settle or leave Alora. The portal bureau notably invented the *Portal Scrying Rod* which they exclusively hold and enable access to them for only important travel.

**Stonesons Guild** A guild of tradesmen and craftsmen who dedicate their efforts to construction and maintenance projects everywhere in town. While heavily involved with government estate affairs, they’re still considered a private entity. They own a stone mill on the outskirts of town where they gather and process all raw materials they can acquire from Animar’s landscape. The guild is lead by a male goliath named Lorovek Stonebreaker Nola-Khon.

**Yer Harem** One of the most notable brothel groups. They tend to keep out of sight to detract unwanted attention and constantly roam around the town utilizing many of denizen homes to host their activities.

**Wearybane Inc** A small business that hires younglings to take beastial mounts with carts in tow to taxi citizens around town for a small fee. They charge a rate of 1 silver per hour they taxi you or double for reserved traveling. For example, I arrive at By Hand & Hammer, but want to have the taxi wait for my business to conclude to take me elsewhere. They’d charge you the standard fare to arrive, but double fare for the number of hours they wait on you and the hours on the return. They discourage all day reservations except in cases of great pay. It is complementary, but not required to tip the younglings that drive you. Most of wearybane’s taxis comprise of two large goat beasts pulling behind a cart designed for mountainous terrain that can support the driver and up to 6 people or roughly 2,000 lbs of weight. It is ran by an elderly human female named Selaphis Vernam.

* Taxis charge a rate of 1 silver per hour they taxi you or double for reserved traveling. For example, I arrive at By Hand & Hammer, but want to have the taxi wait for my business to conclude to take me elsewhere. They’d charge you the standard fare to arrive, but double fare for the number of hours they wait on you and the hours on the return. This is to discourage all day reservations except in cases of great pay. It is also complementary, but not required to tip the younglings that drive you.

### Locations

**Bathhouses** A small set of communal buildings where common-folk are able to use restrooms and bathe. The baths is shared for all to partake as age and gender separation are not considered.

**Fort Ironhold** A moderately fortified compound with defenses similar to a castle. The fort primarily contains the town’s armory whilst also hosting lodging for town guardsmen. It’s known that if a serious threat should befall the town, the citizens should rush inside the fort. The fort also functions as a ward where citizens can raise awareness of criminal activities to authorities.

* Quartermaster: Sarandiel (female Aasimar)

**Faldale Gardens** A lush series of foliage containing plant-life from all over Animar. The garden was built by a Wilden named Faldale who has since passed away. It is curated as a culture site by the government to which citizens can indulge for free. One spends an average of an hour when wandering throughout the garden admiring its beauties.

**Founder’s Mausoleum** A monument that stands alone on the edge of town. The mausoleum is dedicated as a symbolic burial place for all who fell to civil fighting. It also serves as a historical reminder for all to remember Alora’s bloody upbringing. The mausoleum contains the names of all who died and scriptures of the events where *Cabium Silvercoat* united the divided races.

**Ghastly Slopes** A series of descending passages that bring one down to the Scarwell Shallows. It was given its eerie name due to the undead caretakers now delivering the dead along its pathways, corrupting what beauty the citizens adored about it.

**Gloomgrove** Alora’s only cemetery which has been mostly abandoned due to the sprawling undead problem. The anomalies of the dead’s undying remains a mystery and gravetenders have taken the dead to the nearby river to dispose of the bodies in the meantime. Only those approved by the Khan have been buried in the cemetery since the undead issue began which approval is rarely given. Burial at this point is merely an act bestowing honor rather than a necessity to dispose of the dead.

**The Emporium** A moderately sized market that stakes the largest estate of Alora besides homes. This area hosts all manners of shops, services and guildhalls. Many partake in its wares for commerce booms, but is volatile in Alora due to the extreme innovations business owners exhibit. One can find at least one type of shop, tavern and what not due to the highly diverse population. The mantra of the Emporium is the “rule of weird” due to desperate innovators constantly trying to enthrall customers over even the slightest desires and cultural misunderstandings.

**Town Hall** All official government business is tendered here. It is located in the center of town. However, this building is only used as a place of meeting and not lodging. Although it has recently added on a kitchen to serve meals for those who work full days there.

### Notably Missing Areas of Interest

**Fortifications** Walls are said to be coming by the Khan, but as no immediate militant threat is present they're not a priority given the town's size and limited resources. The town's only means of fortifications otherwise is Fort Ironhold.

**Hospitals** Civilian clerics are sought out when one needs healing or medical services.

**Taverns** There aren't enough foreigners visiting Alora to warrant dedicated lodging. Instead, civilians are known to offer up their homes to planar travelers at a cost of their own desires.

**Public Stables** Mounts are known to be leased by individuals on their own terms.

**Port** There are no available waterways to build one within a short distance of Alora.

**Religious Temples** The monarchy disapproves of religious structures. Some folk try to build shrines, but are dealt with by guards.

**Schools** All younglings are homeschooled as no public education is currently available. Craftsman also simply learn master to apprentice style.

## Governance

The first form of government was founded in the year 1352 and its structure was feudalism separated by races who first arrived in Animar, but graduated to factions with ideals and interests leading the governance. This caused a series of fighting over many years however and nearly fragmented society to the point of extinction. However, cooler heads prevailed in time which *Cabium Silvercoat* rallied the people and was given the title of Khan (equivalent of King). In year 1397, Cabium reformed the government into a monarchic oligarchy which the majority approved of. Time has passed and there are still issues with the government, but the people are no longer in constant feud. Albeit there are plenty of others who detest the ideals of oligarchy and advocate for feudalism again or even democracy.

The monarchy has established a unified guard of roughly ~300 guardsmen. Due to the population’s size, the guard is relatively small which causes difficulty in enforcing laws upon the skulduggery types. The town advocates for ones self defense because of this. The town guard, albeit not a formal military, is also expected to protect the denizens from the otherworldly creatures that sprawl throughout Animar which occupies most of their labor.

**Crime** There is a small court run by officials selected by the monarchy to act as their proxy in smaller matters such as petty theft. However larger concerns like murder, arson and so forth is judged directly by the monarchy themselves. The punishments for crime are harsher than most are accustomed to, even petty crime. This is to try and set the example that any form of crime will be met with heavy consequences. Crime is relatively low. Petty crime is uncommon and extreme crime (murder, arson, etc) is rare.

Thedeath penalty is rarely performed. The most common penalty is actually stripping oneself of their honor which the entire town is expected to partake in shunning offenders. The offender is marked with enchanted ink like a temporary tattoo for the duration of their offense. The markings cover their face and hands as to appear obvious and the markings depict the severity of their crime. Covering these markings is considered illegal and further punishment would be delivered. Upon expiration of one’s offense, the markings are removed through a removal process exclusive to the government. If an offender fails to arrive for removal or seeks removal of the markings through other means, a bounty is placed on them: dead or alive.

**Court Proxies**

* *Broldren*
* *Vexas*
* *Crasses Noaraks*

**Lord and Ministers** There are roughly a dozen lords and a dozen ministers that hold dominion over Alora land. This closely resembles feudalism where they own large amounts of land with servants with citizenship (as Alora is an odd mix of fuedalism and monarchism). The lords primarily oversee branches of the guard while the ministers oversee the town's industries.

* Minister of Treasury: *Merryn Glitterfoot*
* Lord of Border: *Thavaghan Keenhand*

## Religion

There is no predominant religion in the town and most deities are welcomed. There are no official temples or large structures built to any god however as the monarchy disapproves of such. At best, clergymen are allowed to commune in a massing on the outskirts of town where they can have mass without being disturbed. Some clergymen have built makeshift communal areas, but do not have the traditional structures of them.

The majority of the populace frowns upon evil based worship, but nothing is enforced currently for those who partake until it involves some sort of crime.

## Society

### Populace

There are no dominant species among the town of Alora. The town is highly diverse due to everyone being an immigrant from another world. Alora currently consists of roughly ~6,000 citizens. You're very likely to find almost any race within the cosmos throughout town.

### Culture

* **Communal Homes** The developing nature of the town has encouraged an ideal for communalism where common-folk share large homes that house several families. Privacy is scarce in these places, but the tradeoff for affordability is exponential as an arrangement for paying taxes is split in such a way to make it very cheap for each family. Each home like this has a council of household heads with titles called Aldermen and are almost always male. In the event of conflict, the Aldermen are expected to represent the interests and be responsible for the actions of all in the house.
* **Crop** Food crop is served in odd shapes, such as square watermelons and cylinder oranges. The agriculturalists insist that this is because Animar’s fertility makes it difficult to grow crops en-mass in their normal shape. It also makes good for commerce because outlanders are bewildered by the abnormalities.
* **Food Services** Restaurants and taverns are not like 21st century. You do not sit and be waited on. Instead, food services primarily serve their food in a communal fashion. You pay a base price for a meal before you eat with which you sit at a large table with a food setting themed however the place wants. Each table hosts 10-20 people at it which it is polite etiquette to ask to be passed something out of your reach than fetch it yourself. The food is constantly refilled buffet style, but you’re only allowed a certain portion which everyone moderates each other at the table. It’s common to simply pay for more “meals” to extend your stay at a food table. It’s also not considered rude to be inquisitive about one’s paying for their meal if someone feels another is eating too much.
* **Four-Phobia** Some of the populace fears the number 4 because in their native tongue, it closely resembles the word death. For example, one might see tables labelled at a tavern but notice that 4 is noticeably missing. You'd be hard pressed to find someone deathly afraid of this, but rather it's superstition which the population avoids indirectly.
* **Innovation** The search for a new start has spurred services and activities that outlanders would deem highly strange and borderline disturbing. Innovation is high in the town’s culture, but in ways you might not expect. One business tried opening a bathhouse/diner where you bathed in a soup bath which you’re expected to eat in a communal fashion. Another business flirts with the acceptableness of the sex industry by introducing cuddle farms with inanimate objects representative of something soothing towards one’s home world. Innovators are notorious for taking even the slightest misgivings or desires and monetizing services around it. Because of their eccentric nature, many of these services do not last very long.
* **Lethargy Paranoia** There is high paranoia surrounding the lethargic winds of Animar which when people feel they’re abnormally lethargic or apathetic, they’re quick to bear crystals to their heads. It’s common for folk to don ornamental headgear composed of or have remnants of crystals to aid with the otherworldly phenomena as there’s no scientific means to prove the winds are passing by. It's also common in the culture to attribute one's lazy behavior to the winds.
* **Lodging** There are no traditional taverns in the town due to its developing nature. However, many outlanders come traveling through Animar seeking stay. It’s commonplace instead to have common-folk offer up their houses as a B&B of sorts where they can charge the travelers any price they wish. Travelers who find this method to be unsuitable typically make a camp in the town outskirts. The culture surrounding this method of lodging is highly encouraged because the monarchy does not impose any sales tax on those serve outlanders this way.
* **Otherworldly Traditions** The populace welcomes most traditions and religions of its denizens, but those who attempt to infuse their homeworld’s cultures find little success. The cultural and diverse abnormalities of many races in one place clash hard with any sort of holiday or tradition one might try and introduce. This is generally more out of cultural ignorance and disinterest than disapproval.
* **Public Bathing** Attributing to the poor hygiene habits of the town, it’s considered normal if not tradition to bathe in the public bathhouses with close friends and strangers. It can be considered similar to how 21st century people commune with others over food to discuss life events and what not. One would invite another to bathe with them like asking one out for a drink. Separation of gender and age is not prioritized for the public bathhouses are used by all simultaneously.
* **Respect/Honor** Due to the upbringing of the town, the culture is very much based around respect and honor. This promotes many acts of kindness, but has abnormal side effects too. On the economic side of things, this has caused the perception of one’s superior to be overly significant to oneself, compared to our 21st century western outlook, which you must respect. You are very much expected to work through the grueling trenches of grunt work in order to achieve status with which you offer tithes of respect and labor to those above you. It is highly frowned upon, borderline criminal, to disrespect someone of higher status in any way.
* **Sex Industry** Sex workers are taboo, but there are no laws against them. The culture of the society however views sex as an act of purity for the most part, but many relish in its sinful delights - especially outlanders. The aspect of finding a partner of like-race is also generally difficult to find due to the diverse nature of the town which contributes to the scarcity of sex with strangers. Due to this, a few brothels have sprung up but keep themselves out of general sight like an underground society would be. However with a bit of asking around, they're not terribly difficult to find.
* **Trails of Tears Festival** A monthly festival called the Trails of Tears has become commonplace through the superstitious belief that if a child cries during this time, they’ll live a long and fruitful life. This tradition is akin to Animar’s odd nature to spew acidic rains in that while it initially destroys the surroundings, it also blooms new life for vegetation and this festival is a metaphor to that. This festival consists mainly of food and drink shared with mothers and the “Scarecrows”. Scarecrows, typically men, don masks and generally frightful attire who go around the festival scaring infants and little children. It’s customary as a male attending the festival to at least wear a mask resembling any sort of frightful creature. The scaring is done in a hospitable manner which those who go too far are heavily scrutinized.
	+ A notable shop named the Banshee’s Wail is run by someone who exclusively runs their business by making masks and costumes for this festival.
* **Weirdness** The bizarre and mysterious nature of Animar has the town advocating for all things that are generally weird. Things that might disturb common folk of other worlds are more likely to intrigue the citizens than detract them. You’d be hard pressed to find scrutiny among the citizens with myths, legends and creatures/things that are dangerous or flat out weird. Curiosity is almost a universal trait among the citizens