Visitors are often surprised that Ob is listed among the great cities; initial impressions suggest that there’s not much to see here. Buildings are primarily domed stone-crusted huts, and even the matriarch’s quarters are simple and practical. Ob is not a city built to impress, but to function and endure. Its prominence is assured by the valuable resources it controls, and the curious magics in the surrounding Barrens.
Almost all adamantane (fully depleted uranium) in the world comes from Ob and the surrounding Barrens. In fact, adamantane is so common here that most buildings are made from it – but covered in unremarkable stone to hide the bare metal. This explains why most buildings are low and stocky, or domed. (Adamantane is too heavy for tall towers; efficient structures such as domes are necessary for large buildings). It also explains why the city has no outer wall: each individual building down to the smallest hut is a nigh-impregnable fortress. Lacking an explanation: how the Adamants (Obbenwym adamantane miners & refiners) can craft the metal into giant huts, when most of the rest of the world can barely process it into chunks. The metal is only worked when the moon is full.
There are strange magics in the Crescent Barrens surrounding Ob. Chief among these is the Werewym Temple. It appears at a different location in the Barrens on every full moon, and every month travelers seek it out for its transformative powers. It is said that the magic granted by Moon, when focused and woven from the Temple, can supersede all else – even curses and blessings bestowed by the strongest of the gods. But it is fickle; whenever the moon again becomes full, the magic is lifted for a time – or vica verca. Many of Ob’s people are moon-shifters, or werewym, capable of transforming into powerful creatures – but bound to the cycle of the moon. Yet the majority of the city fears and shuns the Temple, frightened of what they might become should they seek it out - or concerned that the frustratingly egalitarian energies of the Temple will empower the city’s men.
Society in Ob (and throughout the Crescent Barrens) is strongly matriarchal, and there are no leadership roles available for men.
Obbenwym Heritage: 2nd Wave (Norrish & Sunder) plus some 4th Wave Vasa Lothran (the Moonblade Migration) and, in the surrounding Crescent Barrens, a scattering of Dwarven settlements and mines – generally hidden.
Ob Stats: Population: 1 (20x) Ob is one of the smallest Keystone cities. Its low overall stats are more reflective of its low population, in addition to its remote location. (Stats are not adjusted for population.)
Cultural Influence: 2. Most outsiders just can’t get past the strictly matriarchal society – but Ob’s culture is alien in other ways as well. Obbenwym don’t particularly care whether outsiders appreciate their décor, lifestyle, or customs. It’s not for them.
Economic Influence: 2. Adamantane exports are useful, and earn the city a tidy profit, but the economy is simple and one-note. And there are other, smaller adamantane suppliers, should something happen to Ob.
Military Influence: 5. Ob’s military might is difficult to calculate, since it is a city-state which does not directly control the rest of the Crescent Barrens. Ob’s army is fairly small; other cities of the Barrens have forces that are larger, if not so well trained. Ob is technically paramount over the Barrens and can unite its warriors under one banner – but in practice, this requires special circumstances. (For example, an invasion, or a grave insult to the Barrens as a whole which requires a united military response.) Otherwise, Ob’s free-spirited Little Sisters will balk at the command. This limits Ob’s capacity for aggressive, imperialistic, or expansionist policies, since it can’t rally the full force of the Barrens except in more defense-focused situations. (Though honor is occasionally a sufficient motivation, depending on circumstances.)
Ob’s army is comprised of both men (manwym) and women (wym), but commanders and most elite forces are female. Men in the armed forces (and in general) are typically referred to as “meat” (short for “meat shields”, as males form tough-but-disposable front-line troops). The only fully mixed-gender units are the mysterious Moon-Shifters. These squads are still predominantly female, as males are strongly discouraged from becoming Moon-Shifters – yet male Moon-Shifters who wish to join the army are never turned down. The effectiveness of the Moon-Shifter forces varies greatly depending on the phase of the moon. Ob has never lost a battle when the moon is full; nowadays, its foes know to time any attacks carefully.
Ob’s “navy” has no ships. It is comprised of creatures of indeterminate size and species; likely Moon-Shifters of some kind. This terrifying aquatic force is active only on the full moon, and there is absolutely no defense against it. Blockades against Ob’s river harbor and sister-city ports can never last longer than one lunar month.
At other times, Ob has no navy. The army will resort to commandeering vessels of merchants and fisherwym, should it be necessary to transport its troops across bodies of water.
Defense: 6. Adamantane is effectively invincible, and the dwellings in Ob are all made of it. (Incidentally, this makes them enormously valuable – especially since the crushing weight of adamantane requires that the domed walls be very thick at their base.) But the city has no outer wall. People can be safe in their homes indefinitely, but the city can’t exactly function with everyone trapped in their homes by invaders.
Ob’s army is significantly more effective at defensive tasks, since the warriors of the Crescent Barrens typically only unite in defense of one of their cities. When Ob is on the offensive it can send only its small, local army; when Ob is on the defensive it marshals a vast force.
It should be noted that, when the moon hangs full in the sky, Ob is absolutely invincible – and more than a little scary. Much more than a little.
Ob Cultural Stats:
Government: Female tribal leader; currently the Carpenter Tribe Matriarch. Every 10 years a rival tribe issues a ritual challenge for leadership.
Most Common Criminal Acts: bringing dishonor to one's tribe, burglary, banditry, male weapon ownership
Justice: Females subject only to social shaming, but males killed or exiled for violent crimes.
Climate: subtropical continental; brutally hot and dry summer. Winters short, but bitterly cold nights.
Nights: Night lights only on religious holidays, or in Summer. People sleep days in the Summer, and work nights. Summer days can be lethal. In the Winter, people stay inside at night to keep warm. EXCEPTIONS: Full moons, regardless of season, will always be strange and ominous here. The nightlife is definitely exciting, but outsiders should avoid it at all costs.
Food: Almost exclusively carnivorous, as the arid climate and rocky soil is better suited to herding than farming. Meat, milk, and blood from herds of tamed aurochs, horses, and cliff goats. Fish. Some wild-harvested herbs as garnish, and plenty of cheap imported wine.
Clothing: tough, simple working gear. Dyes are rare.
Festivals & Holidays: Full Moons, Challenge Rituals (major and minor), Winter's End Dance, Summer's End Dance, Feasts celebrating successful shipments and raids.
City Appearance & Architecture: Low buildings with circular floor plans - mostly domes three-quarters buried in earth. The structures are coated in stone (largely for thermal mass) but their underlying adamantane shows through in places. Covered in dust, sand, and grit. Occasional cacti and gnarled, dessicated trees. Few adornments save for scattered tools, weaponry, and bones. The overall appearance is a Mad Max version of Hobbiton.
Common Sounds & Smells: The curious stench of adamantane refining occasionally wafts across the city - especially after a lightning strike or during the full moon, when the refineries are at full power. Otherwise, there is little to smell but dust and sweat. Obbenwym care little for scent, unless they're hunting.
Governance Building, Iconic Structures & Landmarks: The Three Domes, Folly's Price (collapsed adamantane structure), Maru's Fountain, Shifter's Cells, the Pools of Contemplation, the Totems, the Green Hole (Garden/pit), the Dancer's Fire, Pyre of the Ancients, the Last Tree, the Manwym Wash-hut.
Districts, Sectors, Zones, Regions, Wards, and other big places: Dancer's Plain, the Ducts (natural sewer-caves, connect to the surface via the holes), Domes of the Adamants, the Big Hole, the Green Hole (garden), the Totem Homes, the Wanderhomes, The Big Homes, the Behemoth Pens, the New Homes (like a shantytown)
Produces, Exports: ADAMANTANE (uranium), arid crops, spices & herbs, cattle, meat, milk, wool, natural medicines, jade, ivory
Demands, Imports: medical tools, contraptions, steel, silver, weapons, horses, wine, lightning rods (From Tekotah)
Satellite Cities & Towns: Other towns of the Crescent Barrens:
Highly optional game-related or story-related material:
Important People: The Matriarch, any/all powerful werewym, the Adamants (overseers of adamantane mining & refining operations)
Plot Hooks: So, you want to become a Moon-Shifter? Interesting. Veeerry interesting...
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