The Town of Addak

Addak is a frontier town of roughly 600 people, located between Ruk and the Godswall – where a number of tombs have recently been discovered. Most of the low, mud brick and stacked stone buildings were erected in the last ten years. A small fort anchors the southwest corner of town with 12’ high walls of dressed stone. The soldiers within are the only form of law for miles around and they mostly ignore anything outside the fort’s walls. A council of merchants and their thugs have struck a delicate balance that holds when times are prosperous and folds when things get desperate. The town’s primary commerce is outfitting adventurers headed for the tombs, buying the things they bring back, and helping them spend their newfound coin.

  1. The Fort and Barracks. The soldiers within the fort follow Zuul, a general of Ruk. Zuul is forced to house the bulk of his troops in locations scattered well outside the city, due to the king’s fears of being overthrown. Tarak, captain of the Addak guard, ultimately controls the town. He lets most things go but will take swift and decisive action if there is a riot, fire, or other threat to the town itself. Tarak is extremely bow-legged and wears a perpetual scowl. He desperately needs new recruits and eventually hopes to chase the centaurs out of the area. Tarak’s soldiers know of his obsession with the centaurs and whisper that he has Gralk, the smith, working on a secret weapon.
  2. The “Square.” This roughly rectangular patch of dirt, surrounding a large, common well, is unremarkable but busy. If something goes down in the town it often starts, or ends up here. News travels fast in the square and agitators sometimes use it to declaim. The town Doomsayer, Kezrik, has one milky eye and works himself into a lather trying to convince everyone that the end of the world will happen on the 13th new moon.
  3. The Drowned Dog & Varna’s House of Bread. This ramshackle structure serves terrible but cheap ale. Varna who owns the building has a bakery to one side that more than offsets the ale’s sour taste. She wears a headscarf to cover her thinning hair and loves secrets, but is terrible at keeping them. She has heard that a colony of harpies to the east have captured a princess of Zagash.
  4. Tarkeen’s Dry Goods. Most of the basic goods that travelers need are available here: leathers, travel rations, blankets, lanterns, ropes, picks, etc. Tarkeen hosts invitation-only, high-stakes games in the warehouse behind the shop. He has a facial twitch that is very distracting and a bit frightening. He always needs more gold because he wants to buy out all the buildings in the square. His offers to the other owners are becoming increasingly “aggressive.” Rumor is that Tarkeen is backed by a mysterious cabal from Garon.
  5. The Harpy’s Nest. A popular tavern, and a fairly civil if not especially clean one. It is often visited by soldiers from the fort. The owner, Ganek offers decent food and lodging, but demands high prices from travelers because he can. He will not suffer any rowdiness – unless the soldiers themselves cause it (in which case there isn’t much he can do). Ganek is in the pay of King Farzanok and watches Tarak and his soldiers for any seditious activity. He always has a wet rag in his hand, which he uses to incessantly wipe down anything in reach. He is hoping for something to happen worth reporting soon because the spy Farzanook sends weekly for the news is getting suspicious of Ganek himself.
  6. Hunzu, Purveyor of Custom Leathers. Hunzu’s leatherwork is well known. Why he prefers to live in this frontier town instead of in the big city is beyond anyone’s guess. Rich merchants from Ruk, Garon, and other cities routinely pass through to buy Hunzu’s creations. Hunzu also maintains a small tannery downstream, run by his sister Hartha. Rumor has it that Hunzu’s powers come from his association with an avatar of Chaos. Some even claim he has grown a tail that he keeps hidden in the loose pants that he wears.
  7. Gralk's Smithy. Gralk specializes in the tools of violence. He is quite busy and commissions usually have to wait a week or more unless they come with an extra sack of coins.
  8. Utaru the Builder. Utaru and his crew (most of them his extended family) are responsible for many of the structures in town. Tarkeen, who was recently robbed, has accused Utaru of aiding the thieves who broke into his warehouse because they used an old chimney that had been blocked up. Tarkeen believes only Utaru could have known about it.
  9. Anansa’s Herbs. Anana is an apothecary of mediocre talent. She does her best to supply the town with poultices, healing herbs, and other remedies. She will pay handsomely for certain herbs from the blood swamps around Uskad. Anansa has clearly promised herself to a power. Her eyes have vertical slits for pupils and glow eerily in low light. She is hungry to enter the next circle of power within her cult and is secretly working toward that purpose. Even so, she seems harmless enough and willing to help anyone who asks.
  10. Ningara’s Fine Steeds. Between adventurers riding off to the tombs (quite often failing to return) and the ever-present soldiers, Ningara has a booming trade in axebeaks and the sturdier, if slower, giant riding lizards favored by desert nomads.
  11. Ardon’s Curiosities. Ardon Dotoris is a pale foreigner from Zagash. He wouldn’t be tolerated by mistrustful townsfolk if he didn’t have such interesting things to sell. Ardon pays top dollar for things robbed from the tombs and employs a number of guards to keep his hoard safe. Some say he has a secret trove hidden in the wilderness. He disappears for a few days every so often and often comes back with new items to sell.
  12. The Temple of the Shepherd. Though nominally devoted to Dumuzid, there are statues of many gods including his wife Inanna and her older winged sister, Ereshkigal. In fact, there are 12 stone statues, each about 7’ tall. The sculpting is fairly crude and the temple would be entirely unimpressive if it weren’t located in such a small town. The priestess Daru and her 5 acolytes care for the building and perform the required rites.

Note that the NPC DNA and extra-credit rumors are woven into the text above.

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Hirelings+

Since hireling stats are largely a matter of system, I’ll forgo any specifics. But here are some ideas I have for their “DNA.” Also some of these aren’t exactly hirelings but rather possible patrons. My bad.