Final refuge against the cold, and the last city in a cursed land. Gremburg is preserved by the cooperation and dedication of its devoted citizens, and – perhaps more importantly - the Sacred Flame, which lives in great pyres atop the city’s ten tallest towers. Common folk don’t know precisely what sustains the Sacred Flame, only that it is magical and it requires great dedication and sacrifice on the part of the city’s ruling paladins. It is the reason that the City of Gremburg has been spared from the Hollowing – a magical curse of ice and undeath that has afflicted the surrounding lands.
Gremburg is essentially a rebuilt ruin. Its magnificent towers laid mostly abandoned for centuries, depopulated from war, disease, and sheer cold. Yet there has always been a human presence here, keeping vigil over the Sacred Flame and offering protection to those who sought it. In the past generation, protection has been in great demand, and the city’s population swelled as survivors from the hollowed countryside have poured in. All who are offered refuge must pledge to work together to keep the city – and the Sacred Flame – alive. There is a spirit of cooperation here seen nowhere else; a fierce resolve to fend off the cold and the dark, to keep each other fed and clothed, and to rebuild their lives and their city. At present, Gremburg is almost entirely rebuilt – and then some. But the wall is not yet complete, and the Hollowed could swarm the city at any moment. The Sacred Flame offers some protection, but the numbers of the Hollowed have swelled; it will not be enough in the face of a total onslaught.
Travel outside the city – beyond the protection of the Sacred Flame – is dangerous, yet the city’s inhabitants must do so to forage, farm, mine, trade, and (riskiest of all) salvage the hollowed cities. An order of paladins protects travelers in the area near Gremburg. Sea travel in the region is much safer, though icebergs and hollowed merfolk are still a concern. The locals are preoccupied with producing useful trade goods – not because they are greedy or profit-driven, but because their city requires many materials and goods not available in their region if it is to survive and thrive. Therefore trade is of utmost importance.
Gremmen Heritage: 3rdWave (Ustrachi), plus some 2nd Wave Norrish & Ustrachi, and some Dwarves in hidden mines nearby.
Population: 3 (60x)
Cultural Influence: 2. The Gremmen tend to be dour refugees and passionately unified survivalists. Their story is inspirational, but they aren’t exactly focused on being a center of cultural dominance. Or focused on culture at all, really. “Stop that dancing, save your energy for the wall construction project!” This isn’t to say that Gremburg doesn’t have a culture – it’s just that its culture frowns on frivolity, and has no chance of catching on with outsiders.
Economic Influence: 2. “Frantic scramble for survival” doesn’t describe life in an economic superpower. That descriptor applies even to the “upper class” (who are the political ruling class, but not financially well off) and factors in how efficiently people work together for the common good. Gremburg is slowly growing its exports so that it can access essential goods not available locally, but prosperity is such a long ways off that it isn’t even on peoples’ minds.
Military Influence: 15. Gremburg’s military is existentially passionate: their city’s situation is dire, and if they don’t get what they need to survive they might all die. The Hollowing is no joke, and even a Gremburg Winter can be as lethal as a foreign invasion. Gremmen are a moral people, but survival is the top priority; if they cannot trade for what they need to survive, they can and will take it by force.
Gremburg’s elite paladins are famous for having the most effective, well-crafted armor of any military force. Despite the city’s desperate need for exports and foreign trade, the paladin armors are never for sale; it is rumored that they contain the souls of their wearers, or are permanently bonded to their wearers in some other way. Gremburg’s smiths also craft fine swords, shields, and other implements of war; some of these are sold.
Defense: 16 The Sacred Flame is a spectacular defensive… entity. Its function is not well understood by outsiders, who see it only as some sort of network of flame-topped defensive towers that incinerate intruders. Watching the Sacred Flame protect the city is truly an awesome sight to behold, but the citizens of Gremburg never greet the destruction of their enemies with cheering; they are not proud, but sad. The Sacred Flame is said to require some manner of sacrifice, though the details are unknown even to the majority of the city’s inhabitants. When one overhears defensive tactics and planning, it appears that significant efforts are taken to minimize this use of the Sacred Flame.
Gremburg also boasts one of the largest, thickest city walls in Terra Trema… but this wall is currently under reconstruction. (Centuries of war and neglect left it with many gaps, and in any case it needs to be expanded to accommodate the living spaces of all the new refugees.) Once the wall is rebuilt it is likely that no ground assault of any size or scope would prove viable; the city will hold against all. However, starvation during a long siege – especially a siege that lasts through the winter – is a serious concern. Gremburg’s stores barely last through the winter as-is; this is an issue the Paladins seek to rectify, perhaps with trade.
Gremburg Cultural Stats:
Government: The Hearthlords, keepers of the Sacred Flame of Wintersbane. Effectively a council of paladins led by a supreme general, (re)elected every 2 years.
Most Common Criminal Acts: crime? Surely there is no crime among the honorable citizens of Gremburg!
Justice: Punishment for most crime: banishment. = death, especially in Winter.
Climate: arctic/subarctic continental. Short, pleasant Summers; lethally severe Winters. The cold is partly magical in nature. It may even be sentient and malevolent; a partner of the Hollowing.
Nights: Fires available in common areas; citizens take shelter here on Winter nights.
Food: Anything that can be grown in a subarctic climate zone: turnips, cabbage, frost barley, potatoes and carrots. Also, snow pike (fish) and meat from hunting. (Bear, elk, moose, musk ox, fox, wolf, pygmy mammoth, squirrel, etc.)
Clothing: Furs and armor, even in the mild Summers.
Festivals & Holidays: Chant of the Flame, Solaria (Ustrachi variant, but more somber than normal), Midsummer’s Frolic, Reconstruction Day (a sort of anti-holiday where people compete to rebuild as much of the city as possible.)
City Appearance & Architecture: Massive and imposing - a great citadel that looks more like a castle than a city. Still partly ruined - but covered in scaffolding and temporary wooden walkways. Typically features a thick sheet of snow and enormous icicles, as well as the smoke of many fires.
Common Sounds & Smells: The smells of fire and ice during the long Winter; all manner of earthy smells during the short Summer.
Governance Building, Iconic Structures & Landmarks: The Grand Hearth, Rallying Tower, the Towers of the Sacred Flame, the Gap (portion of the Wall currently under construction), the Stores, Adamant Armory, Church of the Bear, Hearth of the Sacred Flame, Temple of Steaming Waters (Hot Spring / Bathhouse just outside the city), the Manufactory, Altar of the Sacred Flame.
Districts, Sectors, Zones, Regions, Wards, and other big places: Hope (North) Fifth, Warsong (West) Fifth, Empty (East) Fifth, Barterers (South) Fifth, Paladin's Fifth, the Crypts, the Arches (building-top and wall-top walkway), the Undercity (underground walkways near crypts), The Summer City (seasonal encampments just outside the walls, by the Temple of Steaming Waters).
Produces, Exports: ironwood, barley, turnips, cabbage, garlic, silver, furs, meat, swords, ice orbs, ice wine
Demands, Imports: firestone (coal), wool, ships, whale oil, pottery, textiles, liquor, tropical fruit, ships
Satellite Cities & Towns: All hollowed. Dangerous, iced-over ruins crawling with undead.
Highly optional game-related or story-related material:
Important People: xxxx
Plot Hooks:
-xxxx
-xxxx