2 PTOLUS: DM’S COMPANION TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
■ Introduction Where Do I Start? ...... 4 Page Numbering ...... 4 Rules, Tips, and More ...... 5 Acknowledgments ...... 5 What is Ptolus? ...... 5
LIVING IN PTOLUS
■ On Being a Resident ■ Crime and the Law ■ Chaositech Where You Live ...... 6 The Law ...... 17 What Is Chaositech? ...... 32 What You Wear ...... 7 The Process of Law ...... 18 Rigors of Chaos ...... 34 How You Live ...... 7 Licenses and Permits ...... 20 Repairing and Modifying Information Panel: Information Panel: Vices ...... 22 Chaositech ...... 34 The Cost of Living ...... 8 Taxes ...... 24 Chaositech Items ...... 36 The City in Which You Live . . .10 Sample file Item Descriptions ...... 37 Information Panel: ■ Technology Gender in Ptolus ...... 11 Firearms ...... 25 Other Weapons and Armor . . . .28 ■ On Being a Delver Transport ...... 28 GUIDE TO THE PTOLUS PDFS Ptolus vs. the Rest Miscellaneous Gear ...... 29 Throughout this book you will find of the Empire ...... 13 Constructs and Special references in the text and in the side- How You Live ...... 14 Machines ...... 30 panels to other books in the PT series What You Wear ...... 14 Aelectricity ...... 30 of Ptolus PDF editions. For your con- Getting Along in the City ...... 14 Skills and Feats ...... 31 venience, here’s a listing of all the titles What the Others Think ...... 15 Maintenance and Fuel ...... 31 in the series and their corresponding After the Delving’s Done ...... 16 title codes:
A Player’s Guide to Ptolus PT1 The World of Praemal PT2 Organizations PT3 Districts of the City, Vol. 1 PT4 Districts of the City, Vol. 2 PT5 DM’s Companion PT6 Beneath the Streets PT7 Adventures PT8 The Spire PT9 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
CREDITS WRITING: Monte Cook
EDITING AND PRODUCTION: Sue Weinlein Cook
COVER ART AND LOGO: Todd Lockwood
CARTOGRAPHY: Ed Bourelle
FEATURED ARTISTS: Jason Engle, The Forge Studios (Maciej Zagórski and Pawel Dobosz), Michael Komarck, Eric Lofgren, Howard Lyon, and Michael Phillippi.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Toren “MacBin” Atkinson, Kev Crossley, Talon Dunning, Brian RUNNING A PTOLUS CAMPAIGN LeBlanc, Alan Pollack, rk post, Peter Schlough, J.D. Sparks, Arne Swekel, ■ Campaign Advice ■ Prestige Classes Sam Wood, and Kieran Yanner Weaving Together a Forsaken Shigmaa ...... 80 GRAPHIC DESIGN: Campaign ...... 40 Inverted Pyramid Initiate ...... 84 Lisa Chido and Brian Rasmussen Campaign Hooks and Goals . . .43 Prestige Classes From the Campaign Villains ...... 44 Core Rules ...... 84 TYPESETTING: Inverted Pyramid Adept ...... 85 Lisa Chido ■ Urban Campaigns Inverted Pyramid Master ...... 85 The Urban Adventure ...... 45 KnightSample of the Chord . . file...... 86 PROOFREADING: Allies, Aid, and Healing ...... 47 Prestige Classes From the Brian Gute and Miranda Horner Urban Player Characters ...... 48 Books of Eldritch Might and INDEXING: Plotting Urban Adventures . . . . .49 Hallowed Might ...... 87 Ptolus Random Encounters . . . .49 Knight of the Pale ...... 88 Lori Ann Curley Handling Dangerous Events . . . .50 MIDTOWN PARTISAN: APPENDIX Erik Mona ■ Monsters Blessed Child ...... 52 ■ PTOLUS RESIDENTS: D’Stradi Demon ...... 54 Reference Sheets and More Michele Carter, Andy Collins, Sue Locales Glossary ...... 90 Ochremeshk ...... 57 Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, Jesse Decker, Ratman ...... 59 NPCs Glossary ...... 92 Erik Mona, Christopher Perkins, Sean Rhodintor ...... 62 General Index ...... 98 K Reynolds, and Keith Strohm Shaadom ...... 63 Open Game License ...... 101 Skulk ...... 64 Legal ...... 101 VISITORS TO THE CITY: Ptolus City Map ...... 102 Wintersouled ...... 66 Steven “Stan!” Brown, Jeff Quick, Keri Zaug ...... 67 Clip-On Screen Reference . . .103 Reynolds, Charles Ryan, Ed Stark, and Random Encounter Matrix . .104 ■ Magic Events in the City ...... 110 James Wyatt Soul Magic ...... 69 Filling Campaign Needs . . . .112 HEROES OF ANCIENT PRAEMAL: Wanted Poster ...... 115 Clerical Domains ...... 70 Michele Carter, Bruce R. Cordell, Magic Items ...... 72 Imperial Identification Papers .116 Christopher Perkins, John Rateliff, Spell List ...... 72 Firearm Permit ...... 117 Spell Descriptions ...... 73 Official Papers (blank) . . . . .118 Teresa Reid, and Sean K Reynolds 4 PTOLUS: DM’S COMPANION
INTRODUCTION
What’s it like to actually live in the city of Ptolus? What’s the typical home like, what do people do for entertainment, and what kinds of tools do they use? This book gives the reader an idea of how it feels to walk the streets of the City by the Spire plus a batch of DM-only rules material and urban campaigning tips.
PAGE NUMBERING elcome to DM’s Companion, those are for the DM to reveal as time goes on. designed to equip you, the DM, with DMs should print out a copy for each player. Two sets of page numbers appear the materialSample you need to filerun an Let everyone have a chance to learn about the at the top of the pages that come W urban campaign within the City of Ptolus. The city and get a feel for the setting. after this introduction. The main material in this book corresponds directly to Where you go next depends on how you’re page numbers correspond to this Chapters 26 through 32 and Chapters 34 through going to use Ptolus. If you want it to be your book’s table of contents. The ones 36 in Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire. campaign setting, start reading PT2, The World in parenthesis correspond to the This is one in a series of nine Ptolus PDF of Praemal and learn all the basics of the world. page numbers of the Ptolus print releases from Malhavoc Press. When used togeth- If Ptolus is destined to become a city in your book. They are there so you can er, they comprise the entirety of the Ptolus print existing world, jump straight to the Districts of properly check the side-panel cross- book. Each one is also usable on its own for city- the City PDFs (PT4 and PT5) and read about references of important words that based fantasy d20 roleplaying campaigns. the various parts of town. you’ll find boldfaced throughout If you only want to mine the setting for ideas, this book. These cross-references tell WHERE DO I START? flip through the various PDF releases that inter- you where to find more information If you’ve purchased this book as a general est you and look at whatever strikes your fancy. about a given term, character, or sourcebook and you’re not sure what Ptolus is, You’ll find interesting city locales, strange and place. They direct you to either a check out the sidebar on the next page for a fascinating NPCs, dungeon complexes, evil page number in this book, a chapter primer on the product and the city it details. If fortresses, haunted ruins, complex organiza- in another book, or a page number on the other hand you’re starting to plan your tions, a few new races, monsters, prestige class- and title code of another install- own Ptolus Campaign, here are a few guidelines es, spells, and a lot more. ment of the PT series. We reference on how to get started. Ready-made adventures for characters of the page numbers from the print Whether you are a player or a DM, start by level 1 to 4 are available in PT8, Adventures. book so that, whatever edition of reading A Player’s Guide to Ptolus. That For those of you who need adventures beyond Ptolus you have, you can discuss book—free to download as a PDF at those offered there, check out the ninety-six- page references with friends and
If you want to read every last bit of information Much of the information in this book may available on the city, look for two Ptolus-related interest players, but it should remain a secret at products previously released by Malhavoc Press: first. Consider the majority of the details in these The Banewarrens and Chaositech. pages privileged information—facts the PCs To delve even deeper into Ptolus, check out the might discover as the campaign progresses. official comic book, published by DB Pro, available Throughout the DM’s Companion, all refer- from Diamond Comics. We’re also proud to offer ences to spells, feats, and other rules come either metal miniatures from Paizo Publishing, specialty from this book or from the v. 3.5 revision of the map products from cartographer Ed Bourelle’s three Core Rulebooks: the Player’s Handbook, SkeletonKey Games, and the Ptolus Counter DMG, and MM. This book is protected content Collection from Fiery Dragon Productions. except for items specifically called out as Open Game Content on the Legal page. For full details, RULES, TIPS, AND MORE please turn to the Appendix. Open content is not Besides showing you what life is like for an aver- otherwise marked in the text of this book. age Ptolusite, this book also gives you a feel for Bonus source material and ideas to augment the life of an adventurer in Ptolus. Other chapters the information in the Ptolus PDFs appear on my delve into Imperial law, scientific wonders (includ- website. Find the links to these free web enhance- ing firearms, clocks, printing presses, and more), ments, my campaign journal, and much more ACKNOWLEDGMENTS and chaositech, the evil twin of technology. online at
ON BEING A RESIDENT
How much does my rent cost me each month? What do I wear to the market? What is the current news of the day? These are all questions that we can answer easily for ourselves in modern-day life. But when we’re asking them of our characters in the Ptolus Campaign, the answers seem a bit more elusive . . .
his chapter describes what life is like for night you sleep in a bed with a mattress stuffed the most common resident of Ptolus: a with straw or cloth, and you likely share that Except for Tarsis itself, more T human of lower middle class who is likely bed with at least one other person—in a family people move to Ptolus each married with a smallSample family. It explores fileissues of home with three children, it’s common to have year than to any other home, work, gender, religion, and the cost of liv- two beds: one for the parents and one for city in the Empire. ing. To see life, and the city, through the eyes of the children. such a character, this chapter has been written in You decorate your home with a shelf of curios the second person. and mementos above the fireplace, and perhaps a few simple decorative cloth hangings on the WHERE YOU LIVE walls. You might have a painting, likely a por- It is held that every home You probably live in a two-room flat in a two- or trait of some elderly relative. Next to the main develops a spirit, sometimes three-story building that contains six or eight door is a small shelf for keeping house gifts. called a luritas. For details on such flats. It has at least one glass window that You can read, at least slowly and simply. You house gifts, see PT1: page 29. opens on a hinge, with a latch. The door into own a few books—likely a holy book or two your home locks (Open Lock, DC 20). Your (depending on your religion), a primer for the kitchen has a hand-cranked pump that draws children, and maybe a family record book or a water through a pipe into a basin. The basin has book of poetry or love sonnets. Most of your Broadsheets, PT4: page 166 a stoppered hole that drains down into the sewer, reading skills are used on the various broadsheets as does your garderobe, which also has a cover published in the city. to keep out unwanted odors and rats. You also own a set of ceramic dishes, a num- Your furniture is wooden and handmade. ber of wooden or ceramic mugs, some kitchen For sample floor plans Some of it likely has nice decorative work, while knives and other utensils, some wooden spoons, of Ptolus homes, see PT4: other pieces are crude but functional. Your home a few large iron pots, a washtub, two basins, a page 197; PT5: page 346; probably has a table or two, at least one chair ewer, a mirror, a comb, a brush, plenty of soap, and PT5: page 347. for everyone in the household, and a bench. You other miscellaneous toiletries, a wooden chest light the place with candles and an oil lamp. You (maybe with a lock), a wardrobe, many blankets, have one, or perhaps two fireplaces for warmth, pillows, a number of barrels and crates (mostly and you might have a coal-burning stove. At for storing food, kept in a loft), a couple of ON BEING A RESIDENT 7 (541) buckets, a few rugs and tablecloths, some towels needed to keep out the cold and rain. It’s not and rags, a quill pen and ink, a few pieces of common for women to wear men’s clothing—a paper, chalk and a slate, oil for your lamp, and shirt, tunic and breeches, for example—but it’s For details on the food the at least a week’s worth of food for the house- not unheard of, either, particularly among common person dines upon, see hold (and more of certain staple foods, like women who work at hard physical labor in a “Eating in Ptolus” in PT5 (the flour). If you have children, you likely have a workshop or elsewhere. At night you wear a North Market chapter), page 306. few toys and entertainments for them as well. long linen nightgown. You likely also own a You might own a musical instrument and a robe, a shawl, and a scarf or two. game or two (some dice, Dragonscales, or some You wear cloth slippers inside and wooden- Dragonscales, PT5: page 359 cards). You probably own some simple tools, soled leather shoes outside. like a mallet, an awl or chisel, a saw, a good You wear your hair long but tied, bound, or The wealthy eat with utensils knife or handaxe, and perhaps some tongs. You braided to keep it manageable when you’re made of silver and are the might own a dagger, but it’s more likely that the working. On special occasions you use cosmetics only class of Ptolusite only weapon you own is a club. and perfumes. These are expensive, though, so to use forks. In the window(s), you keep a box of soil you need to be frugal with them. where you grow a few plants—probably for food, but maybe flowers. You use some of the HOW YOU LIVE household waste as fertilizer. There’s a hefty fine You likely eat most of your meals at home—a Although you keep it covered, the for throwing your trash and waste out the win- light breakfast in the morning and a hefty dinner garderobe has a bad odor, so it is dow, so you dump it down into one of the pipes at night. During the day, you take a break for located far from where you keep that leads into the sewer instead (those pipes fre- lunch, but it’s generally only a cup or two of tea the food and where you eat. quently get clogged, and you are responsible for or coffee with maybe a hard roll to dunk in it. A Instead, it’s located near where clearing them). mid-day meal is for the rich. you hang your clothing, since Both men and women smoke tobacco of vari- the smell keeps away moths. WHAT YOU WEAR ous types. Cigarillos are held in long, lightly fil- If you’re a man, you typically wear a linen shirt tered holders, while thick cigars are smoked that ties in the front and some sturdy woolen directly. Pipes are usual among commoners, both breeches or trousers. If you work in a shop, you men and women, with women’s pipes often being probably wear a colored vest with buttons, or small and ornamental. perhaps a laced doublet. If you are a laborer, a You work long hours—usually six days a week, coarse woolen tunic probably goes over the although if you run your own shop you likely shirt. With the rain and wind common in the work every day. There’s always a great deal of region, many people wear cloaks outside, but if work at home too: caring for the children, mend- you’re at all fashion conscious and can afford ing clothing, cleaning, and so forth. In your limit- it, you wear a coat with a lapel and buttons ed Samplefree time, you visit withfile friends and family, instead. Men wearing cloaks are often assumed play games, or listen to your neighbor play the to be out-of-towners. Hats are also quite com- fiddle, the gittern, the flute, or the hurdy-gurdy. If mon, likely with a brim to keep the rain off your you’re athletic, you might get together with others face. At night you wear a long nightshirt to bed, for some sport from time to time, like wrestling even in summer. Most likely you own two or or a ball game. Only on rare occasions do you go three shirts, but only one of everything else. down to the tavern for a drink, although you and Most of what you have has been patched more the neighbors frequently have homemade ale in than once. the evenings. You almost never eat in a pub or You own a pair of sturdy leather boots, restaurant, but occasionally you buy some sweets, woolen socks, and maybe some soft cloth baked goods, or cooked meat on a stick from a slippers. street vendor. Some of the best diversions of You wear your hair shoulder length and (if On holidays and special festivals (often organ- the year for common folk occur you’re human) you keep your face clean shaven. ized by your church), you enjoy special meals at the Godsday Festival and Since it can be a fairly long time between baths, and activities. Tournament, described in PT4 you sometimes wear cologne—unless you’re a When you or someone in your family is sick, (Temple District), page 392. For laborer, in which case you usually don’t bother. you can’t afford to go to a cleric for a healing other festivals, see “Customs” in If you’re a woman, you probably wear a long spell. Instead, you rely on home remedies that PT1: A Player’s Guide to Ptolus kirtle with an apron and a kerchief on your you learned from your own parents, and if that on page 28. head. You likely own a single nice dress with a won’t do, you go to a physicker or an herbalist. It wide skirt that you save for special occasions. might cost you a week’s wages or more, but when Wearing a hat with a veil in the back is fashion- you’re sick, you’re sick. able, although more and more women are going You try to keep yourself fresh and clean, but out with no head covering at all these days. you only get a real bath once a week, at best. Outside, a hooded cloak of dyed wool is often