A PLAYER’S GUIDE TO
By Monte Cook
Sample file
WWW.PTOLUS.COM 2 MONTE COOK’S CITY BY THE SPIRE TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction The Undercity Market . . . . .10 Outside the City Walls . . . . .18 The Look of Ptolus ...... 11 Customs ...... 18 A Player’s Guide to Ptolus Noble Houses ...... 11 History ...... 19 Welcome to the City ...... 4 Organizations ...... 12 Two Emperors ...... 19 Campaign Feel ...... 5 Balacazar Crime Family . .12 Life Under the Empire . . . . .19 The City of Ptolus ...... 5 Brotherhood of The Empire Today ...... 20 Rulers ...... 6 Redemption ...... 12 Timeline ...... 20 The Authorities and the Law .6 The Conciliators ...... 12 Creating a Character for the Ptolus The Forces of Light ...... 6 Delver’s Guild ...... 12 Campaign ...... 22 The Dark Side ...... 6 Dreaming Apothecary . . . .12 Common Races ...... 22 The People of Ptolus ...... 6 SampleThe Fallen . . . . . file...... 12 Minor Races ...... 23 Districts of the City ...... 7 Fate Weavers ...... 12 Other NPC Races ...... 24 The Docks ...... 7 The Forsaken ...... 13 Names ...... 24 Guildsman District ...... 8 Healers of Sacred Heat . . .13 Character Background ...... 24 Midtown ...... 8 Inverted Pyramid ...... 13 Character Classes ...... 25 The Necropolis ...... 9 Keepers of the Veil ...... 13 Level ...... 26 Nobles’ Quarter ...... 9 Killraven Crime League . . .13 Magic ...... 26 North Market ...... 9 Knights of the Golden Spells ...... 26 Oldtown ...... 9 Cross ...... 13 Blessed Children ...... 26 Rivergate District ...... 10 Knights of the Pale ...... 13 The Wintersouled ...... 26 South Market ...... 10 Longfingers Guild ...... 13 Equipment ...... 26 Temple District ...... 10 The Malkuth ...... 13 Firearms and Technology . . . . .27 The Warrens ...... 10 Order of the Fist ...... 14 Pale Dogs ...... 14 The Shuul ...... 14 City Map The Sorn ...... 14 Districts of Ptolus ...... 16–17 Sisterhood of Silence . . . . .14 The Vai ...... 14 Viridian Lords ...... 14 Character Sheet Religion ...... 14 For Ptolus PCs ...... 28–29 The Church of Lothian . . . . .14 Important Individuals in Ptolus .15 People From History ...... 18 Appendix The World (and Beyond) . . . . .18 Legal and Open Game License . .30 A PLAYER’S GUIDE TO PTOLUS 3
INTRODUCTION
Ptolus is meant to be the d20 System in microcosm. It embodies all that is fundamental to the game, but it does so in the space of a single city. That means there are dungeons to explore as well as townsfolk to interact with. There are strange magical mysteries to discover, demons to fight, and even dragons. Ptolus is truly a city of adventure—player characters don’t have to leave it to embark on amazing adventures.
CREDITS tolus is the union of some aspects of real-world medieval Europe (as real as is fun) with the rules and flavor of the d20 System. When I wrote in the Third Edition DMG that merchants might WRITING: P hire wizards to use detect thoughts and see invisibility to deter crime, and that bars might post Monte Cook signs forbidding detection spells so the patrons can relax, I was thinking of Ptolus. EDITING AND PRODUCTION: The Ptolus Campaign is the d20 rules with the volume turned all the way up. I created this world Sue Weinlein Cook with the game rules in mind. The conceits of the game were the conceits of the setting. The feel of the COVER ART AND LOGO: rules was the feel of the city. If the rules suggested that something might happen a lot, then in Ptolus, it Todd Lockwood and happened a lot. The effects of 1st-level spells come as a surprise to no one here. Tanglefoot bags, rings Ed Bourelle of protection, and a druid’s animal companions are taken for granted. CARTOGRAPHY: I loved it when one day a player of mine said, “I polymorph myself into a troll and run out into the Ed Bourelle street after the thief.” ILLUSTRATIONS: Another player said, “Dude, you can’t go out there like that!” Jason Engle, The Forge And the first player replied, “Don’t worry about it! This is Ptolus—they see this stuff all the time.” Studios (Maciej Zagórski and I knew then that the first player really got Ptolus. Pawel Dobosz), Michael We’d talk about how a City Watch patrol that found an entire city street blocked by a web spell Komarck, Eric Lofgren, wouldn’t be mystified but instead annoyed—the guards knew from experience what a pain it was to Howard Lyon, Michael hack through the stuff. (The risk of fire is too great to burnSample the webbing.) In thefile end, unless it was a Phillippi, and Arne Swekel. busy or important street, the Watch most likely would just let the spell’s duration run out. COVER AND INTERIOR The people of Ptolus have seen this kind of magic all their lives. That doesn’t cheapen it or render PAGE DESIGN: spells humdrum—magic was never so common as to make Ptolus feel like a modern setting with magic Lisa Chido in place of technology. The players just learned to understand that the folk of Ptolus lived in a world GRAPHIC DESIGN: where the Third Edition Core Rules governed their lives. Even if fewer than one in a hundred people Brian Rasmussen were spellcasters, by the time Ptolus natives grew to adulthood, they’d have seen spells cast, monsters summoned, and so on. PROOFREADING: Carrie Bebris Player characters, having spent their lives in Ptolus—or at least in the same world as this city— certainly know a fair bit about the place. Whether you are a player or a DM, this Player’s Guide is PTOLUS RESIDENTS: where you start getting to know Ptolus and the world of which it is a part. The guide is pulled straight Michele Carter, Andy Collins, from the pages of the forthcoming Ptolus: City by the Spire book to give you a quick overview of what Sue Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, the city has to offer. Of course, it doesn’t go into any of the secrets of the setting: Those are for the DM Jesse Decker, Erik Mona, Christopher Perkins, Sean K to reveal as time goes on. Reynolds, and Keith Strohm All the material in this guide represents common knowledge available to city residents or visitors to Ptolus. Every player should have a copy of this guide to learn about the place and get a good feel for VISITORS TO THE CITY: the setting. ThisPlayer’s Guideis required reading for a player creating a character for the Ptolus Steven “Stan!” Brown, Jeff Quick, Keri Reynolds, Campaign. DMs should read it, too, as it summarizes much of the general information about the set- Charles Ryan, Ed Stark, and ting. Everything in the full Ptolus: City by the Spire book (August 2006) builds from the information James Wyatt found in this guide. After reading it all at the beginning, players will want to refer to this material throughout the campaign as well. HEROES OF Those who seek to delve even deeper into Ptolus can check out the full book or the PDF excerpts ANCIENT PRAEMAL: Michele Carter, Bruce R. being released online at
A PLAYER’S GUIDE TO PTOLUS
A city of mysteries, secrets, and dark histories, Ptolus lies forever in the shadow of a towering stone spire reaching impossibly high into the sky, itself an enigma and a reminder of evil long past. In Ptolus, the supernatural is expected and treachery lies around every corner—or is it that the supernatural lies around every corner and treachery is expected? Either way, the city of Ptolus abounds with danger, magic, intrigue, and above all, adventure.
FROM MY CAMPAIGN his guide is designed to introduce you as or not it has toppled. Three different emperors TO YOURS a player to the fundamentals of Ptolus, so claim the throne, and portions of the once great T that you can create and run a character realm cleave off like icy shards from a melting In my original Ptolus Campaign, with plenty of knowledgeSample about the world. file The glacier. This decaying society looks upon previous the characters started out not city is rich enough in detail that it’s difficult to centuries and sees grander, more civilized, and as Ptolus natives, but as a absorb it all at once, so keep this information certainly better days. Progress seems on the group of unrelated people wait- handy as a reference while you play in the Ptolus decline—skills and lore that people possessed just ing in line to gain entrance Campaign—and be prepared to discover that the a few hundred years ago are lost now. through the city gates. information you learn in these pages is only the But this is not a time to lose hope altogether. very briefest overview. This civilization, older than our own real-world cultures, is more sophisticated than our own in WELCOME TO THE CITY some ways, but less so in others. A myriad of You are a native of a port city called Ptolus, or races and peoples have come and gone, creating you have recently arrived there. Native or not, an intricate (and sometimes confusing) amalgam. you know a few things about this city—it is not Good struggles against evil, and law against without a reputation, to say the least. To call chaos. But the shadows only threaten the light— Ptolus a dynamic place with a strange and varied they do not yet consume it. identity is to understate the situation greatly. Not so long ago, the first men and women who Only now are explorers truly discovering how would one day be called “delvers” returned from ancient the city really is and unearthing details of exploring the catacombs below the city of Ptolus its varied history. Ptolus is where that strange laden with gold and magical treasures. Today, breed that calls itself “adventurers” congregates. hundreds of new would-be delvers pour into the It’s a place where people are as concerned with city each month, hoping to strike it rich like oth- what lies below the ground as they are with ers before them. Most never crawl up from the what’s above. This is like no place else in the realms below, but adventurers keep arriving with world. dreams of gold and fame. Those who do emerge Ptolus lies in the world of Praemal within the back into the light bring with them tales of sur- bounds of a very old Empire unsure of whether prisingly vast reaches of natural caverns and A PLAYER’S GUIDE TO PTOLUS 5
ancient hewn passages, perhaps dating back to the strolling down the street rub shoulders with elves, dark days when this area lay in the thrall of the dwarves, halflings, gnomes, half-orcs, and even terrible Skull-King, Ghul, and the region was stranger beings. pocked with winding warrens and subterranean In a way, this campaign is “the d20 System chambers created by his dark armies. They also rules with the volume turned all the way up.” tell of the horrors that dwell outside the life-giving Creating this city didnot involve building a reaches of the sun: unknown monsters and devi- fantasy world first, then adapting the rules to ous demon-minded things with a cunning make it work. Just the opposite, really. As a set- unknown to human-, elf-, or dwarfkind. In the ting, Ptolus has been under the influence of the city, entire industries have evolved quickly to serv- Core Rules for a long, long time. The things that ice the needs of these adventurers. In the shadow make d20 fantasy unique—the prevalence of of an unnaturally tall, ancient spire with a very magic (including the specific spells we all know), dark past, a whole new form of economics, poli- the ever-increasing power of individuals, and the “Some place needs to be the tics, and social structure struggles to be born. creatures of the MM—have shaped the reality of worst place in the world. Creatures and individuals (good, evil, and oth- Ptolus. And because I used this setting as a Why not here?” erwise) that normally remain in the shadows are playtest backdrop as I worked on the design of —Brusselt Airmol, well-known drawn to this large gathering of adventurers and the Third Edition Core Rules, Ptolus influenced rogue adventurer magic. The needs of the delvers prompt renewed the d20 System rules as well. This is a setting devotion to magic, science, and religion. As the steeped in game history and significance. Empire of Tarsis dies, Ptolus—for years a back- That doesn’t mean Ptolus contains nothing water town on the edge of civilization—is quickly new, however. As the city developed, new material becoming the center of something much larger grew out of the process. The firearms, creatures, than itself. Omens and prophecies of children spells, races, and foreboding atmosphere all came born with strange birthmarks surface in the city very naturally. with increasing frequency. No one yet knows The Ptolus Campaign is a fantasy that some exactly what, but something is happening in would label “dark,” although it’s as much about Ptolus. Something new stirs in the city… and that rising up out of the darkness as living within it. something is very, very old. It is clearly an urban fantasy, for the campaign takes place entirely within or beneath the city of CAMPAIGN FEEL Ptolus—a place with a vast history of dark secrets Ptolus is an urban campaign setting. However, it waiting to be discovered. Ptolus was created to be, first is also one that deals with dungeon delving and and foremost, a place where subterranean exploration. In your own Ptolus THE CITY OF PTOLUS characters could have interest- Campaign, you can probably expect about a fifty- Ptolus is a major city of about seventy-five thou- ing and exciting adventures. It’s fifty split between dungeon adventures and urban sandSample people. It is located file in the land of Palastan designed to accommodate both adventures. The latter involve a surprising array near a large bay on the southern end of the urban- and dungeon-style of organizations and of individuals that live in Whitewind Sea. The place was established to serve adventures. The city’s back- this less-than-typical fantasy city. as the port for an important fortress built at the ground provides a foundation As a setting, Ptolus should prove a somewhat time of the Empire’s foundation, a citadel called for political intrigues, monster- realistic interpretation of a place in which dun- Dalenguard. More significantly, however, it lies in bashing adventures, treasure- geon explorers really do plumb the depths of a the shadow of an impossibly tall (almost three hunts, and even adventures gigantic underground labyrinth filled with treas- thousand feet) and thin pinnacle of rock known involving demons, angels, and ure, monsters and traps. As much as possible, simply as the Spire. The Spire and its surroundings other outsiders. many standard tropes of fantasy adventures, seethe with mysterious legends and rumors. These including “dungeons,” are presented in a fashion tales tell of ancient battles waged and cities erected that makes sense. on the site, of demons and dark lords, of forgotten While late medieval culture provides one build- kings and mighty wizards. Many such stories might ing block of the setting, it’s not the focus that you be at least somewhat true, for recent developments might think it to be. The Core Rules are that have revealed vast complexes beneath the city. focus. So, while Ptolus is based strongly in histor- Of late, Ptolus has become a city of adventur- ical reality, many notions from real-world history ers. Treasure-seekers flock there to explore and that often hold true in other campaigns (most plunder the labyrinthine structures beneath the adults don’t believe in monsters, everyone’s bewil- streets, which they call the “Dungeon.” If the dered by magic, you never see lizard men walking stories are correct, these catacombs include: down the street) are not present here. Instead, 1.The sewers of the city. Ptolus is a campaign where the Core Rules and all 2.Vast stretches of subterranean passages and that they imply hold sway. That means “mon- chambers created by Ghul and his minions sters” are common. Wizards are everywhere. Lots (see “Timeline,” page 20). of people walk around in plate armor. Humans 3.The remains of an even older city. 6 MONTE COOK’S CITY BY THE SPIRE
4.An abandoned underground dwarven settle- However, neither the city guard nor the ment called Dwarvenhearth. Sisterhood of Silence is willing to go down into For more on House Vladaam, 5.And levels that plunge incredibly deep below the Dungeon and fight monsters. Nor are they Sadar, Khatru, and the other the present urban area. likely to help against well-known and influential noble houses of Ptolus, see noble families such as House Vladaam or House page 11. Ptolus lies in a cool, rainy coastal region with Sadar, or powerful groups like the Church of harsh winters. It serves as an important port on Lothian or the Shuul (see page 14). Of course, the Bay of Ptolus off the Whitewind Sea and those groups would never break any laws, so belongs to the Empire of Tarsis, although a grow- there’s surely nothing to worry about. . . . ing faction in the city feels that Ptolus should declare itself independent. THE FORCES OF LIGHT Aside from the law-enforcing authorities, both offi- The Commissar of Ptolus, Igor RULERS cial and self-appointed, Ptolus benefits from the Urnst, is a war veteran and a The city is ostensibly ruled by a council, at whose presence of various forces of munificence. Orders military man. Even though head is the Commissar, a representative of the of knighthood like the Keepers of the Veil, Order Ptolus has not been threatened Empire of Tarsis. The other main council members of the Dawn, and Knights of the Pale uphold such with attack in centuries, he has are Kirian Ylestos, the Prince of the Church, and concepts as benevolence and nobility. There are a very defensive-minded the Mother Superior of the Sisterhood of Silence even angelic beings in Ptolus—more than anyplace approach to running the city. (see below). Other City Council members (with else in the world—from aasimars to half-celestials However, at the same time, he less influence) include guildmasters, the heads of to true angels. Many of these beings congregate in is wise enough to know that the the noble houses, and a few wealthy merchants. a place called the Pale Tower and call themselves residents of Ptolus are not sol- People of the town often refer to this body as the the Malkuth. Paladins and clerics of good deities diers and that sometimes he “Council of Coin,” because money is a powerful like Lothian, Gaen, and Navashtrom help Ptolus needs to give them what they and influential force among its members. stand against the darkness as well. want to make them happy. This Guildmaster Delver Sorum Dandubal, also a And in Ptolus, the dark is deep. understanding makes him both council member, is quickly becoming another efficient and fair, and he is force to reckon with—almost a fourth main THE DARK SIDE extremely well liked. member—but the three forces controlling the Like every city, Ptolus has a dark side. Here, crim- council dislike and oppose him. inal lords command veritable armies of rogues Truth be told, the real ruler of the city is the and assassins, and war amongst each other as Commissar, Igor Urnst. The City Watch operates well as against the law. These criminals deal in under his direct command from Dalenguard, a extortion, smuggling, gambling, usury, and prosti- historic fortress that still stands in Oldtown. tution. Chief among these criminals are Menon Urnst’s group of advisors in charge of the city’s Balacazar, leader of the oldest criminal syndicate defense and protectionSample is called the Twelve file in the city, and the newcomer Kevris Killraven. Commanders. These include Lord Dorant Khatru They are bitter enemies. Depraved assassins called of House Khatru, Aoska (a half-celestial), and the Vai hunt victims for money and to fulfill their other local luminaries. own bloodlust. But worse things lurk in Ptolus than simply THE AUTHORITIES AND THE LAW criminals. Dwelling among the crypts of the city’s To police the streets, the Commissar of the city graveyard are the death-loving Forsaken, so commands a force of more than eight hundred called because the rest of society finds them so troops and City Watch guards, including a few abhorrent. Worse still, chaos cultists—in league dozen elite individuals (captains, mages, clerics, with terrible inhuman things—plot the city’s etc.). While the constables in many of the Empire’s downfall and, in fact, the annihilation of the The City Watch approaches any cities are considered glorified street-sweepers with entire world to sate their lust for destruction. given situation with an appro- little competence or desire to actually enforce the Lastly, and strangest of all, Ptolus is home to priate response. To handle a law, this is not true of the experienced and well actual demons from the lower realms: Some are bunch of rowdy drunks, the equipped guards of Ptolus, particularly those merely demon-blooded tieflings, but others are Watch captain sends some low- known as the Commissar’s Men. full-blooded fiends that call themselves the ranking guards. However, to Nevertheless, this well-trained and well-paid Fallen. These beings dwell alongside the Forsaken deal with a rampaging monster force has its hands full maintaining order in the in a place called the Dark Reliquary. or a group of unruly adven- city. Helping to enforce the law is a special order tures, the captain sends well- of monks called the Sisterhood of Silence. These THE PEOPLE OF PTOLUS equipped fighters supported by nonspeaking female monks patrol the streets and Ptolus is primarily a trade city, serving not only as multiple spellcasters. apprehend criminals, even though they are not— a major port but also as a link between the north- strictly speaking—sanctioned to do so officially. A west and the central portions of the Empire of male eunuch always accompanies a small unit of Tarsis. About two-thirds of the population is the Sisters of Silence to speak on their behalf. human, with the remaining third being (from