Gradsul (walled metropolis): Leadership conventional (hereditary noble ruler)
Alignment LN
Population 49,400 (human 92% (So), elf 3%, dwarf 1%, other 5%); GP Limit 100, 000gp
Assets 247,000,000gp

Authority Figures: Duke Luschan Sellark VIII of Rhola (LN male human Wizard L9/Fighter L2), Duke of Gradsul, head of the Rhola Faction; Sir Adahan Strongarm LN male human Fighter L8), Knight-Captain of the Watch; Don Blanko (LE male human Rogue L14), Leader of the Dockworkers Union & Guildmaster of Thieves; Admiral Falpior (LN male human Fighter L15) of the Royal Navy; Arch Cleric Nothus (LN male human Cleric L13), High Priest of Zilchus; Lord Mayor Solomon Rhola (LN male human Expert L7), Cousin of Duke Luschan VIII).

Important Individuals: Archmage Drawmij (N male human Wizard L17, HorW1, ArM1), Drelbin (LN male human Wizard L5/Expert L2), Master Clerk at the Royal Acadamy of Wizardry; Drogan Kegok (LN male human Cleric L13), Cleric of Zilchus; Lady Ketta Sellark (N female human Fighter L4/Bard L2), cousin & High Herald to the Duke; Curate Lathendor (N male human Cleric L), cleric of Osprem and Fellow of the Sea Mages; Lady Maressa Linth (LE female human Rogue L6/ShD4), the Duke’s new wife; Stromon Rilfepp (N male human Cleric L13), Cleric of Osprem; Xapatl (LE male human Ranger L1/Cleric L7/MoSh1), leader of the Olman & cleric of Mictlantecuhtli.

Other Individuals: Alacata (Cm1, N), Olman mother of Nenethualpa; Lord Aubert Ruatho (Mnk3, Ari2, Ass1, LE), minor Suel noble, patron of the Royal Explorers & Royal Museum; Celesta Shadeflower (Rog1, Bard7, LN), halfling guard at the Royal Museum; Herald Charlton Pendal Dasco (Ari3, Brd1, Fg1, CG), distant cousin & disgraced herald to the Duke; Captain Dungril (Fg5, LN), city watch officer; Elios Murancho (Exp4, N), Curator of the Royal Museum; Falkas (Rog5, NG), the King’s agent in Gradsul; Flincottle (Exp1, N), gnome gemcutter & clerk for the Port Authority; Garrald Sbetlath (Fg5, N), owner of the Garrisfurd Arena; Itzectloc (Sor8, NE), Olman cultist of Camazotz; Jaquon (Exp7, N), sage with specialization in ichthyology; Jedvar Mirnau (Fg7, LN), City Watch detective and informant for the Darkwatch; Joren Belgham (Clc3, LG), cleric of Zodal in Ilbosok; Keystan (Exp2, LN), aide to the Duke; Luigi Lightfingers (Rog9, CN), bawd & informant for the Thieves’ Guild; Maztecicla (Cm2, N), Olman woman; Reld Makazian (Rog3, Exp8, N), Royal Explorer; Scar (Rog5, Asn5, NE), albino assassin; Staliana Oestereich (Clc5, LN), priestess of Heironeous & agent of the Darkwatch; Turgin Ilhane (Sor5, Sil9, LN), visiting Silent One; Wellemeynhe Myghals (Exp4, LN), Syndic of the Gemcutters’ Guild & Port of Gradsul customs authority

A decade ago Gradsul was little more than a large walled town serving southern Keoland as a trading port. Slowly, however, its population grew and its boundaries

Then came the Greyhawk Wars – first the town swelled as King Kimbertos set about increasing his Royal Fleet to deter any action by the ‘old enemy’, the Sea Princes. Even after the Wars, Gradsul has seen a large influx of settlers. Refugees came, mainly from the eastern Principality of Ulek, southwestern Keoland and the Hold of the Sea Princes, but also from other lands far away. Some came by land, but most arrived by boat and ship. Always the largest settlement in Keoland, with an estimated 50,000 permanent inhabitants it is now double the size of the next largest Keoish city, the capital Niole Dra.

The Lie of the Land
The old town, all within the town walls, is spread out below the 300 year-old Kaylgrunn Castle, the home of Duke Luschan. It sits in the corner of Gradsul, overlooking the sea and the docks. At its southernmost point, a lighthouse-tower, known as the Lechtur, is situated. This tower, manned by marines, is linked by way of underground tunnels to the Royal Fleet Admiralty buildings, known as the ‘Umberdtine’.

Within the old town walls, the city is split into six distinct areas known as Districts. Each District elects three Aldermen to the City Council, who are supposed to deal with important issues and present their proposals to the Duke. As the Duke does not bother the people much, the people do not bother him, and that is the way they like it.

Outside the walls are the five Wards, small ‘districts’ that evolved as immigrants and refugees came over the last decade. They are looked down upon by the residents of the Old Town, and are referred to as ‘visitors’ (as opposed to real visitors, who are known non-affectionately as ‘foreigners’). Reluctantly, the visitors have been allowed to elect one Alderman per ward to the City Council. The Ward Aldermen tend to be more vociferous and militant, and there is substantial tension between these five minority newcomers and the established District Aldermen.

At the end of the Greyhawk Wars a new outer town wall was built, covering most of these districts. Since that time even more people have settled, and housing for them has been built outside the city walls, on the slopes of Maldurnanhel. This area is known as the ‘new town’, and so far all attempts for them to be given a voice on the City Council have been blocked. There is growing discontent within the ‘new town’ area, which is likely to come to a head soon.

Old Town Districts
The Docklands: This district stretch northward along the seafront, being deepest to the south. At the southern end, the commercial shipyards sit, with the Royal Fleet shipyards, docks and the Umberdtine between them and the outer walls of the castle.

The Orgsworth: To the southwest of the Docklands lies the warehouse district known as the Orgsworth. There are a few expensive houses therein, but for the most part all buildings in this area are warehouses.

The Promenade: From the northern third of the Docklands, a wide processional known as the Promenade runs to the Garrisgate. Every third shop along this way is a tavern, inn or alehouse. Most of Gradsul’s breweries also lie in this District. By day, this street barely maintains its façade of decency, apart from the end closest to the docks. By night, however, all the veneer is removed, and the Promenade reveals its full glory – and decadence. At the northern end of the Promenade is the Garrisgate (lit. ‘gallow gate’ in Keoish), by which the traveler arrives at Gradsul on the Caisteallweg. The square inside the Garrisgate, as the name suggests, is where all public executions take place.

The Gartten District: Between the Orgsworth and the Promenade lie two distinctly contrasting districts. The Gartten District is a pleasant area of reasonably expensive housing and commercial premises. Many of the city’s more respectable businesses (bakeries, chandlers, cloth merchants etc.) as well as the businesses of many professionals (lawyers, healers, scribes etc.) are found here.

Barndanhel:This district is the city’s slum. Many areas are in reasonable states of repair, but the place has a poor reputation, and not without due cause. Life here can be cheaper even than in the Docklands, where at least there is an element of guild control. ‘Tainted’ business such as slaughterhouses and tanneries are found here.

Havverd: At the northern tip of the Docklands is the rich Havverd district. Primarily high cost housing and exclusive shops, this area is patrolled intensively by the Havverd Runners, a security force paid for by the local inhabitants, and is perhaps the safest place in Gradsul. To the north, the Rivergate leads to the River Road, a track used less now in favor of the Caisteallweg, but serving local traffic well.

The Wards
Ulgrad is the northernmost Ward, running east of the Caisteallweg, between that road and the walls outside the Havverd area. As the name might suggest, it is the home of fleeing Ulekians, mostly from the eastern Duchy. It tends to be one of the wealthier wards, having many stone built houses, but is quite insular. Despite being outside the new town wall the residents of Ulgrad have not taken umbrage to the same extent as the folk of Bellsfurd.

Garrisfurd lies to the east and west of the Caisteallweg, immediately outside the Garrisgate. It has the most solid of buildings, having been established long before the coming of the refugees, as Gradsul’s overspill outside the original town walls. It is mainly populated by southern Keoish folk, some of whom have fled their homes along the southern coast, to the west and from the ongoing Dreadwood war. The building of the new town walls have made the inhabitants feel much safer, though with the lax attitude of Gradsul’s town militia they are only marginally safer.

A major feature here is the Garrisfurd Arena, where horse and dog races, and other sporting events, take place on a nightly basis. The owner here is Garrald Sbetlath, who lives at Hochel Manor outside town. The Sbetlath family have run the arena for decades, and made a fortune from the gambling there.

Bellsfurd, to the north of Garrisfurd on the west-side of the Caisteallweg, is the home of refugees from the Hold of the Sea Princes. Even as enemies of the Scarlet Brotherhood, these people are not truly welcome here, although most will vociferously denounce their former homeland’s stances on all points. There have been a few killings here based on their enmity with the folk of Garrisfurd and Hillgate, but their Alderman always placates his people, so that no (overt) reprisals occur. Since the completion of the new town wall Bellsfurd lies outside Gradsul, and is now dwarfed by the new town buildings of Maldurnanhel. This has done nothing to ease its occupants’ anger and feelings of isolation.

Little Molvar is so-named for its mixture of different Baklunish folks, and is a strange place indeed. Full of weird and wonderful sights and sounds, most of its inhabitants reside in traditional Baklunish nomad tents but still it has the strongest sense of community amongst the minority groups of Gradsul. Even those Baklunes who earn enough money to leave tend not to move from this Ward.

Hillgate is the smallest of the Wards, and lies next to the southernmost entrance to the old town. It is home to a few hundred Amedians and Hepmons – all rescued or escaped slaves from the Sea Princes and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Within this area, most people tend to be tribal, and frequent fights break out between different tribes. There is much speculation that some folk missing from Bellsfurd have found their way into this area to meet their fate as dinner or sacrificial victims, but this is unproven rumor. Most of this area’s denizens live in simple wooden shacks and huts.

The New Town
Maldurnanhel is the melting pot of Gradsul, being filled with overflow from the Wards, and numerous minority settlers who are not large enough to create their own unique communities. Buildings are almost exclusively wooden, and tend to be owned by rich Gradsul merchants who rent them out to workers for a profit.

Duchy of Gradsul