Calimport!

[Carthrat]

Hardly everthing in Calimport is included here. There's plenty to find that hasn't been covered...

Gather Information is a wonderful skill for use about here; it can allow you to find information on any topic.. in theory. It takes 4 hours to conduct a Gather Information check; remember that resting 8 hours is generally necessary to not get hit with a fatigue penalty. When using it here, specify there 'where' and 'what'. Rumour is a valid choice, as is simply naming the general kind of area you're poking around. It may be that all you get is a lead to a better place.

Feel free to use this topic to note down things you discover. I'll update it from time to time.

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Calimport is big; indeed, it is one the most if not the most populous city in Faerun, and as such is built to accomdate such a size.

Or, at least, as far as the nobles are concerned. The poor here are in a more desperate state than just about anywhere you've seen; entire streets fill with beggars at night, and some of the luckier ones have apartments or rooms that are little better than a stable to sleep in. Unemployment is high, and many find themselves living short and painful lives.

Luckily, Calimport doesn't need lots of people to survive, only profitable ones. Built out of many, many stone houses off the ground, the wealth starts at the centre of the town, and the place slowly becomes less and less opulent as things move out. Royalty descends into Nobility, Nobility decends into the merchants, and merchants dissolve into wretches. On the outskirts of town, only the soldiers have any real comfort, yet they forever guard the walls.

-Places to Go

a) The Royal Palace stands in the centre of town, a brilliant place of jewel and wonder. The Royal Family lives here, along with their 'trusted' retainers and the like. Also holds part of the city guard, and it's rumoured that ancient dungeons lurk underneath- dungeons that hold bottled genie and efreeti as well as the more mundane types of criminal...

b) The 'Stiltain Guild', a place where brave adventurers are reputedly hired. A small office within the nobility district, they tend to keep up a number of perfectly reputable mercenary jobs for those who needs it; hiring out to the military, investigating such-and-such a ruin, dealing with such-and-such a creature. Hosted by a mild-mannered clerk at all times, they serve as a sort of headhunting agency.

c) The Grand Market; most of it is terribly uninteresting to hard-headed adventurers, but most everything mundane is sold here; glass, fabric, food, plates, ornaments, musical instruments, livestock, books... the quality is frequently suspect, but any mundane or masterwork item can be purchased from here, weapons and armour excluded.

d) Winia's Wonderful Weapons is the place to go for such things. Dealing in all materials, all kinds, all comers, her shop sells masterwork and mundane items constructed out of many materials. However, she does not deal in enchanted items. Naturally, she sells armour as well- and is reputed to be an amazing resource for knowledge on arms of all kinds, including legendary enchanted blades.

e) Five major churches are situated in Calimshan, in wildly different locations.

-Church of Illmater - Located in the midst of the slum district, the clerics of Illmater strive to eliminate disease from Calimshan's poorer members, and provide food and services as best as they are able. In chronically desperate need of gold, they are mocked by all of Calimshan- except those serfs who now swear by the crying god. Sympathetic monks abound near the small building, and despite the mockery in other places, few can bring themselves to jeer at the kindly souls openly.

-Church of Kossuth - Located near the barracks, the Church of Kossuth is worshipped by many soldiers in Calimshan. Emphasizing the strive to perfection and the sheer power of flame, these clerics have more temporal influence that one might think...

-Church of Mask - Everyone knows there's a temple of Mask. Nobody knows where it IS, but people know it's here. Somewhere.

-Church of Shaundakul - Built near the gates of the town, the Church of Shaundakul wishes travellers a safe journey through the unforgiving Calim Desert. Most people stop by here before leaving- they run a stabling business nearby the church, and sell camels at the low price of 300gp a beast. They sell horses, too- good luck getting them through the desert.

-Church of Waukeen - No city of the likes of Calimport would be complete without a large temple to the Golden Goddess. Rather than acting as a market, in Calimshan, her temple resides in the centre of the Grand Market, and her clerics change money and resolve disputes with registered clients. They don't sell much themselves, aside from clerical goods... but they do know where most things can be bought, or so it's said.

f) Calimshan's House of Honorable Exchanges - or, rather, a casino. The one place where the entire city unites, Calimshan's casino caters to all price ranges (including selling yourself).

g) Magister's Guild - All mages visiting Calimshan are forced to visit the Magister's Guild and pay the outrageous sum of 1,000gp to have a right to 'practice magic' in Calimshan. (The city is not as lame as Amn, you can get away with it if nobody sees you.) They can feel free to travel throughout the city as they please if they don't pay- they just can't buy anything or cast any spells.

Things go badly for mages caught in Calimshan casting spells without a permit. The justice system is unusually harsh. Most vanish into the dungeons, never to be seen again...

On the bright side, membership with the Magister's Guild enables mages to buy scrolls and spells, as well as confer with each other about topics of interest. Of course, most mages here are double-dealing bastards, but what can you do?

h) Calimport has a huge array of taverns and inns to sort through- too many to list here. Instead, one must select the *quality* of their inn- which will relate to position. The better inns stand closer to the city, for the most part.

5cp/day: The Street, where you must pay protection money to rest.. Expect to catch a disease.

1sp/day: The really horrible slums, where you essentially pay to sleep the same place you catch sylphilis.

3sp/day: The horrible slums, where there's a chance you may survive the night.

1gp/day: The least horrible slums, where it's possible you might sleep without fever dreams. To be fair, many stay here of all sorts, and most places have cleaned up their act. The service and security, however, is still patently awful.

5-10gp/day: The merchant district, where one can get a room all to himself. The beds here are nice, though, and the service is fit for.. well, an adventurer in a city who wanted to get away from the road. Well-off but not affluent people stay here, making them similar to the best of the slums in the terms of adventurers staying in places like here. (Woah, unclear.)

20gp/day: The least awesome nobility inns. Here is a place where one is waited on by attractive women and people who don't have lice (a rarity!). The food is pleasant, only bordering on pretentious; the company is nice, and the inns are close to some of the nicer brothels.

50gp/day: Live the dream, kids.