The Holy City of Golden Sunlight – and more recently, actual gold. Peloria is a very old, very religious city currently facing upheaval as it is flooded by free-spirited adventurers seeking their fortunes. Less than two decades prior, stupendous quantities of gold were discovered throughout the sun-soaked lands surrounding Peloria. This news has finally percolated throughout the known world, and hundreds of new fortune seekers flood the region every day. The influx of people and gold have brought riches to this conservative, devout city – yet it has also brought chaos and strife, as the old ways are threatened by novelty and inflation.
At the city’s heart lies the Grand Temple of the Sun, where the Aspect of Pelor (technically a high priest or priestess; akin to the Pope) makes her holy decrees. Even before the gold rush, the city was accustomed to many visitors, as the Faithful of Pelor would make long pilgrimages to bask in the radiance of the Grand Temple and the Aspect of Pelor, or immerse themselves in the ancient wisdom of the Great Libraries. But the many five-story inns of the city were accustomed to reverent, well-composed travelers, not the hordes of free-spirited fortune seekers that have flooded the region as of late. The city’s leaders (even the Aspect herself) have tried denying nonbelievers access to the city, but this was of little use; the visitors feign conversion (or are genuine worshipers, but wild) and in any case they proved to have too much money, passion, and foreign magics & technology to keep controlled or sequestered. Though there is no outright armed conflict, tensions between old (order) and new (chaos) are high. The Aspect recently conceded to allow the visitors some say in the government – not via direct voting powers, but by giving the “Voice of the People” (representing primarily the new gold-rusher faction) greater say in how the city conducts its affairs.
Many visitors to Peloria are now gold merchants, seeking to trade other commodities for gold at bargain rates. Some worry that this veritable fountain of gold will collapse the international economy, which relies on the stable value of gold as its foundation. It has already caused the local value of labor to skyrocket; there’s no such thing as a peasant in Peloria anymore. (This is a good thing, on balance, but consider: there’s very nearly no such thing as a janitor or a lamplighter in Peloria anymore.)
Pelorian Heritage: Old guard is 2nd Wave Norrish and 3rd Wave Sunder; the recent gold-seeking migrants are diverse 5th Wave, from all across Terra Trema (e.g., Quistrali, Djembosan, Fortunese, Albish, Harushi, etc.)
Population: 15 (320x) Peloria is one of the larger keystone cities.
Cultural Influence: 20. Religion and respect are key here. Most humans worship some incarnation of the Sun – often Pelor – and Peloria is the seat of all sun worship. The Aspect of Pelor makes her (or his) religious decrees from Peloria, and all seeking her favor or wisdom must travel to the city. Not to mention, there are dozens of other major temples in the city – most dedicated to light or the Sun, though all major faiths are represented.
Above all other cities of Terra Trema, Peloria preserves the best of the Old Lands. Ancient lore and wisdom can be found in the city’s massive libraries, and its museums are full of ancient artifacts. Its methods and justification for preserving this heritage are focused on respect and religious reverence. This stands in stark contrast with Alba’s methods: Alba also preserves many ancient artifacts (sculptures, literature, artwork, jewelry, etc.) in its grand museums, but its reasons are political & self-aggrandizing, and its methods are aggressive. Thus travelers seeking to bask in the wonders of the Old Lands tend to prefer Peloria’s museums over Alba’s, even if Alba’s are technically larger.
Though Peloria’s Old Guard tend to be conservative and religious, the city has contributed to modern art and entertainment as well, especially on the “high culture” side. The city is a hub for scholarly work, especially philosophy, anthropology, ancient languages, and intelligent critique of drama and literature. The opinions of the scholars of Peloria are highly valued, and they tend to be surprisingly friendly and charismatic. They buck the “snobby scholar” stereotypes, and are almost never pompous or self-important.
Economic Influence: 11. Peloria’s economy was recently very simple; some would say primitive. It was sustained largely by pilgrims and other visitors, and until less than a decade ago its large lower classes eked out meager livings. But Peloria is currently in the midst of an economic upheaval that threatens to restructure not only its own economy, but the international economy of Terra Trema at large.
It’s all about Gold. The ancient imperialists from the Old Lands thought they’d found and harvested all of Terra Trema’s surface deposits of gold many ages ago, but somehow the veritable carpet of gold nuggets in the lands around Peloria had gone unnoticed. The rich soil of the plains surrounding Peloria has always been suspiciously shiny – but nobody made the connection that it actually contained tiny flecks of pure gold. The southern hills are full of gold too, and the roots of the eastern forests curl around impossibly large gold nuggets. Many suspect that magic of some kind would have been required to hide such remarkable natural treasure from the region’s many inhabitants and conquerors for thousands of years. But if this gold-hiding magic ever existed, it is no longer active, and the Great Pelorian Gold Rush is in full swing.
Inflation is a big problem all throughout the greater Pelorian region, as the ubiquity of gold has made it less and less valuable. In fact, it’s approaching parity with silver on the Pelorian exchanges. This is actually a fairly good thing for the city’s lower classes. Many of them have left the city to mine gold, and become as rich as the “Rusher” foreigners. Others have benefited from the city’s unprecedented influx of wealth; sure gold can’t buy them much anymore, but they never had much gold to begin with, and now they earn incredibly large wages which go a long way if they buy foreign goods or leave the city. And many of them do leave the city (either to seek or to spend their small fortunes) which has driven the cost of labor up even further. It’s almost impossible to find reliable employees in Peloria, given how much free money there is in the hills. This has had some rather catastrophic consequences on the city’s cleanliness, maintenance, and order as janitors, repair crews, and even the city watch balk at their wages and quit in droves.
Peloria is a fountain of gold that doesn’t look like it’s getting plugged anytime soon. The full economic impact of this is only beginning to be felt outside of Peloria itself.
Military Influence: 8. The Knights of the Sun hail predominantly from the fiefdoms surrounding Peloria, but they are fiercely loyal to the city’s theocratic government. Though Peloria hasn’t operated on a fully feudal system for some time, the military retains the feudal organization, with the army’s various local branches being led by local lords. In times of war, the City Watch joins with the Knights of the Sun in the march to battle. The various paramilitary forces of the city’s temples and libraries remain to guard their respective institutions, though some may send a few champions. The Blades of Pelor never leave the side of the Aspect of Pelor, but occasionally the Aspect marches into battle herself (if from a protected position, of course).
Peloria preserves much from the Old Lands, but none of the old imperialism. Though it can muster a sizeable force, wars of aggression are no longer in keeping with the city’s philosophy; Peloria’s crusader days are long over. And yet, Peloria becomes embroiled in the conflicts of others with some frequency. Many powers have alliances with Peloria, and the city never fails to assist its allies – even if it means fighting in a war it would never have started itself. Honoring treaties is so important to Peloria’s leadership that it has been known to send two equal-sized armies to assist two allies… who were at war with each other. Perhaps it offers its assistance without question because it understands that it never faces an existential threat; for cultural reasons, Peloria is unlikely to be invaded if it finds itself on the losing side of an alliance. Or maybe Peloria’s government just needs its Knights of the Sun to let off some steam now and then.
Though many of the institutions of Peloria are in disarray, the army has suffered no disruption, and has dutifully taken over the responsibilities of Peloria’s nearly-disbanded City Watch (and the Watches of surrounding towns). The Knights of the Sun are the very definition of “Old Guard”, and they have too much honor to quit their duties to chase after shiny rocks. The fact that they demand absolute respect for the rule of law and have low opinions of upstart newcomers has led to no shortage of friction. The Knights of the Sun are a good and honorable army, but a problematic police force.
Defense: 3. Peloria uses the curious tactic of culture-as-defense. None would dare despoil the Holy City of the Golden Sunrise! The Aspect of Pelor herself makes her earthly abode there! To march on Peloria would be to march on the gods themselves. The city is such a major nexus for religion, belief, scholarly work, and general respect that a wide range of people, from all walks of life, would see an attack on Peloria as a grave taboo or karmic no-no. It’s much more likely that a foreign power would send an army to SAVE Peloria rather than to attack it.
The City’s structures may not offer efficient defense, but its defenders are keen. The City Watch and the paramilitary forces of the various temples (most notably, the Blades of Pelor) are trained in urban combat, and (in the absence of the City Watch) the Knights of the Sun are powerful, fearless warriors.
Peloria’s culture-as-defense has worked surprisingly well.
And yet, in the event of an attack by an army that doesn’t care much for history or culture, Peloria is in trouble. The wall is largely decorative, with many large windows, and in any case it encircles only the oldest portion of the city. The grand temples, libraries, and museums are designed to let as much sunlight in as possible, not to be readily defensible. As it turns out, a city full of glass windows really, really wants to avoid having stones thrown at it.
Peloria’s structural defenses are so poor that they have had little choice but to accept the Rushers as Pelorian citizens, lest the city be wracked with revolt. Even if the Knights of the Sun could kill every last Rusher in the city (not an unlikely prospect), Peloria would be utterly ruined in the process.
Peloria Cultural Stats: (Note: averaged between Old-Guard and Rushers, who are quite different.)
Government: Theocracy, led by the Aspect of Pelor, tempered by a representative parliament led by the Voice [of the People].
Most Common Criminal Acts: claim jumping, burglary, interfering with justice, public disturbance, heresy
Justice: Mixed religious and civil justice systems, overlapping jurisdiction. Tough but fair.
Climate: very sunny warm continental
Nights: Night and darkness is the Enemy, so the city is always lit incredibly brightly. The city has a number of what it calls "Incarnations of the Sun", which are enormous glowing orbs that illuminate entire neighborhoods. Some of these are currently in disrepair, or remain unlit at night due to lack of willing labor.
Food: xxxx
Clothing: xxxx
Festivals & Holidays: Every religious or sun-related holiday ever. All versions of Solaria, etc.
City Appearance & Architecture: A massively disproportionate number of elaborate temples / cathedrals / grand places of worship, of different styles, but with sun-imagery and the collor yellow (or gold) as a unifying theme. Mirrors and yellow glass are common, and rays of light bounce around the city at all times. (Beams of sunlight during the day, beams from the "Incarnations of the Sun" at night.) Many rows of five-story inns. The city is very physically large - larger even than its population would imply - because so much real-estate is dedicated to visitors, and religious or academic uses.
Common Sounds & Smells: xxxx
Governance Building, Iconic Structures & Landmarks: The House of the Sun, Aspect's Pedestal, St. Victus' Cathedral, St. Jeven's Cathedral, Gilded Folly, the Moondoor, Sun's Landing, the High Hostel, St. Rena's Museum, Library of St. Osrit, Temple of Peaceful Rest, the Tower of Icons, The Great Incarnation.
Districts, Sectors, Zones, Regions, Wards, and other big places: Regio Solara (Sun Temple District), Regio Prima (government buildings), Regio Pelor (Grounds of the Grand Temple of the Sun; Pelor's enormous temple), Regio Lux (Cathedral District / Healers District), Regio Biblos (Library District), Regio Aquos (main river port & navy docks), Regio Pisces (Fisher's Docks), the Golden Shanties (the brand-new Gold Rushers' shantytown on the city outskirts), Regio Necro (the Crypts, and Temple of Peaceful Rest), the Undercrypt (sewers and ne'er-do-wells), Regio Hospitium (hotel district), Pilgrim's Road (main entrance to the city, part of Regio Hospitium), Regio Mercantilus (Markets).
Produces, Exports: GOLD, gems, grains, textiles, religious items, cattle, leather, glass, clocks, tapestries
Demands, Imports: pumice, chemicals, potions, fire stones, ice orbs, carvings, fruit, feathers, dyes, wine
Satellite Cities & Towns: xxxx
Highly optional game-related or story-related material:
Important People: xxxx
Plot Hooks:
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