Vornheiming Middenheim Part III: Some City-Wide Resources


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Today we have the general overview of Middenheim, some introductory notes on religion and the watch, a table of random shops, and some rumors about the Undercity.  Their will be more about religion and the Watch in the district and NPC sections, since I think they work better there.  I figure it will be more interesting to know that Ar-Ulric wants to father a dynasty than it is to know as part of the information about the cult of Ulric that the priesthood was sworn to celibacy ages ago and now some of them want to change it.  Likewise, the watch will get stuff like frequency of encounters and attitude to local denizens detailed in the district write-ups.

I feel like the Undercity rumors might be a bit sparse, but they're mostly drawn from the adventure ideas in the original book, and I feel like "how to do a megadungeon" is outside of the main scope of what's going on here.  I put the adventure hooks into rumor form so that individual GMs can decide how much is true and how much is exaggeration, depending on the level of Chaos driven corruption they want.  At any rate, the sections for this post are after the break:

Middenheim
  • Middenheim sits atop 500 feet of sheer grey rock rising from the mutant haunted depths of the Drak Wald forest
  • Built around the temple of Ulric with the help of the Dwarves, Middenheim is an imposing fortress city
  • The only ways into Middenheim are the precarious lift-chairs and the four massive viaducts raised by dwarven ingenuity and human magic
  • Known as the “Magical Capital of the Empire”, there are more wizards and alchemists in Middenheim than even Altdorf
  • Heavy armor and large weapons are not tolerated, inviting harassment and false charges from the watch
The Watch
  • The watch headquarters are located at each of the four city gates, with jail cells, additional weapons, and reinforcements
  • The diligence and professionalism of the watch varies widely, and almost everyone has a friend or family in the watch willing to do a favor in the right circumstance
  • Patrols leave from each of the headquarters and the chance of encountering them is given in each district
  • Patrols are generally less frequent but larger at night
  • Standard Patrols: 4-9 civilian volunteers led by a sergeant
  • Elite patrols: 4-9 professional soldiers led by a watch captain, often accompanied by a wizard.  
Religion
  • Ulric is the god of wolves and winter, and he demands strength and ferocity from his followers
  • Sigmar is the founder and patron god of the empire, champion of mankind and warrior against Chaos
  • Unlike most of the Empire, worship of Sigmar is fairly minor in Middenheim, and worship of Ulric is widespread
  • The more extreme followers of each god perform petty vandalism, spread rumors, and occasionally worse
  • There are minor temples to Shallya, Verena, Myrmidia, and Morr
The Undercity
  • Below the streets is an extensive sewer system
  • Even deeper, the entire Fauschlag is riddled with old Dwarven tunnels, closed off and abandoned
  • Rumors about the Undercity:
Roll
Rumor
1
The dwarves keep access to the tunnels open and send armed expeditions to fight something
2
Some ancient and wealthy buildings have cellars that run deep enough to connect with the tunnels
3
Cultists have tunneled from the sewers into the wealthy catacombs of the Morrspark Cemetary
4
Mutants and beastmen lair deep in the tunnels, following the bidding of dark masters even deeper
5
Members of the watch are more and more willing to turn a blind eye to people entering the sewers if the right palms are greased
6
Some of the fungi and gases that occur in the sewers are valuable to the less scrupulous herbalists and alchemists of the city
7
The wealth of the city derives from ridiculously rich veins of gold that run through the Fauschlag
8
The body of a mutant was found in one of the open sewers of the Old Quarter, a casualty of intercult hostilities
9
Gems, jewelry, and stray coins come to rest in the thickest concentrations of filth in the sewers
10
Dwarves in charge of inspecting the sealed tunnels have begun to go missing
11
A former member of the Wizards and Alchemists guild is a liche living in the sewers, animating corpses to steal valuables and magical components
12
Deep in the tunnels a race of vile ratmen plot the utter downfall of the human city above

What Shop is This?
  1. Bowyer/Fletcher
  2. Brewer
  3. Butcher
  4. Candle/Lampmaker
  5. Calligrapher
  6. Cartwright
  7. Cobbler
  8. Cooper
  9. Dyer
  10. Engraver
  11. Fuller
  12. Furrier
  13. Glassblower
  14. Goldsmith
  15. Herbalist
  16. Jeweller
  17. Laundry
  18. Leatherworker
  19. Locksmith
  20. Music Shop
  21. Outfitter/Tailor
  22. Pawnbroker
  23. Pharmacist
  24. Potter
  25. Printer
  26. Ropemaker
  27. Sign Painter
  28. Tanner
  29. Weaponsmith
  30. Weaver/Spinner

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