Skyfell Geography: Organizations of Highwater

Skyfell Geography: Organizations of Highwater

In my homebrew campaign of Skyfell, there are dozens of organizations (both public and clandestine) actively working to affect not only the daily life of its denizens but also its cultural, scientific, arcane, and historical direction. Many of these organizations are in the city of Highwater on the continent of Doraku. This post outlines a few of them. As the campaign progresses, I’ll add more.

Clockwork Authority

The Clockwork Authority is a semi-secret, loose collective of like minded individuals who charge themselves with investigating any strange and unusual events involving technology, securing that technology should doing so prove useful to the greater good of society, destroying it should it prove dangerous, and bringing to justice those who dabbled in illegal or otherwise dangerous activities involving it. Ultimately, their stated goal is to preserve the safety and well being of Skyfell in general and the reign of Tescalain specifically.

Every continent in Skyfell has at least one clubhouse that acts as a hub for activities in that region. For Doraku, this is Norixius Manor in the Maht District (the wealthy area of Highwater where both The Aerie and the Wyrmking's Sanctuary are located). The dragonborn family that owns the estate has been intimately involved with local politics going back to the Wars of Possession. Because of this, many kenku believe the Norixius clan's primary interest in the Clockwork Authority's mission is more closely tied to a continued desire for the "civilized" races of Skyfell to subjugate the kenku. "Common wisdom" has it that even Lord Ko-maht-aa sees the Authority's activities as being influenced if not governed by the clan's ulterior goal, though he has fallen short of making any such accusations publicly. The head of the Norixius clan is a hot-headed and arrogant male named Tanhnen "The Cinderclaw," who has maneuvered many of his children into high-ranking positions within the fabric of society so that he can better preserve the rule of Tescalain (and therefore cement his clan's power).

Tanhnen Norixius, Lord of Norixius Manor
Source: HeroForge Design by Me

Deep Web

The Deep Web is a professional society of rogues, assassins, spies, and others who deal primarily in the clandestine arts that allow civilization the continued illusion of being civilized. Its activities are a known secret, operating at all levels of society. They are neither benevolent nor malevolent. They simply do what they are paid to do. Anyone entering into a contract with the Deep Web can expect a high degree of professionalism, competence, and tenacity. The organization has a reputation to protect after all. While members acting within the terms of a contract cannot expect complete immunity from the law, the organization does provide legal and political protection if the economic and social cost is justified.

The Deep Web maintains a large collection of forums, facilities, laboratories, safe houses, and hidden caches widely dispersed throughout Highwater (both above and below ground). No one member knows the location of every site. Common knowledge tells of long-forgotten access points and underground structures housing vast treasure collections gathered since the Wars of Possession. (See the cultural note for Gilengo’s Hovel in the Session 7 - Supplemental post.). While the rumors spark the interest of the general public, no one has managed to ever prove them true. The more permanent locales are marked with the Deep Web’s symbol, a stylized web. The organization can also be reached through Creeping Fangs, an unassuming shop tucked away in a corner of Garrison Market that sells a wide variety of arachnids, arachnid accessories, and arachnid byproducts. The owner is a somewhat misanthropic male dwarf named Orsik Silverthread.

Orsik Silverthread
Unassuming, but Abrasive, Deep Web Frontman

Eyes of Tescalain

The Eyes of Tescalain is tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing security information from around Skyfell. They focus on unusual or especially dangerous events that pose a threat to either Tescalain’s rule specifically or Skyfell’s political, economic, and social stability in general. Every major temple devoted to Bahamut has at least one cell of operatives that monitors local activities and reports back to Tescalain’s Court. Tescalain is the copper dragon who rules the Known Skies, as described in Skyfell Geography: Akima Prime post. A rather large group is stationed in the Wyrmking’s Sanctuary on Doraku. See Skyfell Geography: Doraku for more about the Wyrmking's Sanctuary. This group has established an extensive intelligence network on that continent. The cell is headed by an aasimar of dragonborn parents known as Overseer Aleph Prime.

Overseer Aleph Prime
Cell-leader of the Eyes of Tescalain on Doraku

Popular knowledge refers to members of the Eyes of Tescalain as Watchers. Upon joining, a Watcher surrenders their identity and is assigned a unique name. When addressing a Watcher, the honorific “Agent” is used followed by that name. It’s a well-known fact that every Watcher is a spell-caster of some kind. At least the “normal” ones are. Rumors abound that many Watchers are not of Skyfell; elementals, ethereal entities, and even creatures from other worlds fill its ranks. They wear a uniform of blue and green (at least those capable of wearing clothing do) along with a necklace, ring, brooch, or other ornament bearing the organization’s symbol, a dragon’s eye surrounded by a flaming circle. 

House of Coins

The House of Coins is the premiere banking institution on Doraku. As a quasi-governmental institution it is owned and operated by the Nackel gnome clan but is regulated and taxed by both the Court of Tescalain and Lord Ko-Maht-aa’s state. It provides several services, including currency exchange, secured vaults, and contract management for The Job Boards. It also has its fingers in just about every economic transaction that takes place on, in, and around Doraku. Its main office is in the heart of Garrison Market across the street from The Job Boards.

The elders of the Nackel clan are some of the wealthiest gnome merchant lords in Skyfell with deep roots in Doraku and a presence on most other continents. They contribute heavily to the daily needs of every gnome burrow in the area, especially High-Tunnel Grind, the rock-gnome burrow located within Highwater city limits. Its daily operations are handled by Honeygold Nackel, the eldest granddaughter of the head of the clan. As a head of a Highwater House, she is referred to as Master Nackel of the Coins.

Master Nackel
Chief of the House of Coins

House of Guards

The House of Guards maintains law and order within Garrison Market. It is under the direct command of Lord Ko-Maht-aa’s state military. This chain of command has been the cause of periodic tensions between city guards (who are loyal to their Lord) and troops from Tescalain’s army (who are loyal to Tescalain). The House is really a small barracks, complete with its own judiciary offices, jail cells, sleeping quarters, dining halls, and training facilities. 

The rank and file members of the Guards are drawn from the more “civilized” members of Highwater society who see the duty as an opportunity both to hold a welling-paying, and reliable, job and to make connections with Highwater society. Officers in the Guards are by appointment only, and are most typically the sons and daughters of Highwater families with the money or political acumen to place their children into a respectable career. A male dwarf by the name of Stormhammer Ironsides defies this status quo as he rose through the ranks to become the master of the house. As the head of a Highwater House, he is referred to as Master Ironsides of the Guards.

Master Ironsides
Captain of the House of Guards

House of Markets

The House of Markets manages the day to day operations and maintenance of Garrison Market. It is part of bureaucracy of Lord Ko-Maht-aa’s state that ensures commerce continues in a reasonable, and profitable, fashion. The house collects rent from market vendors, manages the weekly swap meet, enforces regulations (with the help of the House of Guards), keeps clean all public places, arranges public events (such as non-religious holidays), and oversees The Job Boards. It also keeps extensive records of all commerce that takes place within its jurisdiction.

The employees of the market typically come from merchant families and/or entrepreneurs. As with the House of Guards, the higher ranks are courted from the wealthy. The “blue collar” staff are hires from more common stalk. The house even has contracts with the kobolds who occupy the Haven beneath Garrison Market. This house is currently under the supervision of a female halfling named Cora Greenhills. As a head of a Highwater House, she is referred to as Master Greenhills of the Markets.

Master Greenhills
Manager of the House of Markets

Adventurers looking to make a little coin see the Job Boards as their second home. This plaza includes a dozen kiosks where citizens can post all manner of job openings. These postings are free. For more refined seekers, or those who want to be represented as more respectable, there are the heralds. These barkers stir up interest in contracts that are bonded by the market itself. (They ensure all parties involved in a contract fulfill their part in the most profitable, expedient, and reliable way.) The market, of course, takes a cut of the total fees. There are four heralds, each with their own specialty.

Delg - The War Hound
Male dwarf herald
Specializing in contracts requiring your basic bashing, slashing, and stabbing

Frath - The Marketeer Maestro
Female tabaxi herald
Specializing in contracts requiring a quieter, more subtle approach and a bit of finesse

Pel - The Adventurers’ Profit
Male gnome herald
Specializing in contracts for dungeon delving, mapping, and exploration

Theran - The Platinum Whisperer
Male tiefling herald
Specializing in contracts involving the arcane, the mysterious, and the sacrilegious

House of Vessels

The House of Vessels manages the day-to-day operation of the docks at Highwater. It too is a part of the bureaucracy that Lord Ko-Maht-aa’s state. It ensures the daily airship traffic coming into and going out of the continent continues smoothly and safely. The house collects mooring fees and port taxes, operates a fleet of tugs, ferries, and skiffs to help tendered air ships with cargo and passengers, enforces regulations (with the help of the House of Guards and Tescalain’s navy), keeps clean all public areas, ensures the safety of several navigation beacons, and even operates a maritime school. It also keeps extensive records of all traffic, cargo, and passengers that pass through its jurisdiction.

Unlike the other houses, the high-ranking officials of the House of Vessels are evenly split between appointments from wealthy families and promotion from the lower ranks. This house is currently under the leadership of a male kenku named A-vroom Ding-Ding. As a head of a Highwater house, he is referred to as Master Ding-ding of the Vessels.

Master Ding-ding
Commander of the House of Vessels

Protectors of the Green

The Protectors of the Green are a cabal of druids, rangers, fey, and other like minded folk who have devoted their lives to protecting the natural beauty and splendor of the Encampment Green (see the cultural note in the Session 7 supplemental regarding the Encampment Green as well as Merbore’s post-game activities there in the Session 8 summary). While there is no rigid hierarchy to this organization, there is a council that is elected from the various factions that make up its membership. This council helps to manage the people and other resources toward the ultimate goal of keeping the Encampment Green a wild place.

There are a small number of camps sprinkled around the Green that act as both shelter for its protectors and outposts for visitors and crews alike. The largest of these is the Hunter’s Lodge at the southern end of the Encampment Green. It consists mostly of “manufactured” terrain surrounding a living lodge that has been carefully nurtured over centuries by the Garfinkel clan, a small family of forest gnomes who immigrated to Doraku many generations ago. The grounds are used primarily for training purposes. The lodge also has access to a cave system that is rumored to be connected to the Whispering Caverns (see Skyfell Geography: Doraku). The lodge includes facilities for practicing herbalism and other natural arts, gardens, a smithy, and a micro-brewery quite popular with visitors. It is open to all. It’s currently under the administration of a male halfling named Welby Goodroot, generally referred to as Uncle Welbers by those who are willing to share a pint with him.

Uncle Welbers
Administrator of the Hunter's Lodge

Sha-awk Ving

The Sha-awk Ving gathers, processes, and analyzes security information from around Doraku. They focus on unusual or especially dangerous events that pose a threat to either Lord Ko-Maht-aa’s power specifically or the political, economic, and social stability of his state in general. They have a working relationship with The Eyes of Tescalain but report directly to Lord Ko-Maht-aa. Just as with the “working” relationship between Tescalain’s army and the House of Guards, there can be tension between the Eyes and the Ving when their goals do not exactly align.

The Sha-awk Ving has a long history going back to the Wars of Possession (see the cultural note in the Session 7 supplemental regarding the Gilengo’s Hovel) when they were an underground resistance force acting against the occupying foreigners. In peacetime, their activities transitioned into spying and espionage with the ultimate goal of protecting the sovereignty of the kenku race on Doraku. Its members are all of kenku ancestry and are composed of families that can trace their lineage back to original members. It is thought that the Sha-awk Ving controls the Deep Web and wield influence over the Hall of Words and Song (though the extent of that influence is questionable). The organization is headed by one of Lord Ko-Maht-aa cousins, Duke Ko-laan-too. In that role, he is referred to only as the Master of the Arts.

Duke Ko-laan-too
Master of the Arts of the Sha-awk Ving

The Trust

The Hall of Words and Songs is more than just a guild. Within its campus is a vast compilation of knowledge that has been gathered by bards for centuries regarding the social, cultural, political, natural, and genealogical histories of the Doraku region. Much of this information is stored in The Trust, a library of scrolls, books, artifacts, and other products of society. Some question the authenticity and accuracy of the collection given its source. Bards have a penchant for fanciful flourishes when facts are too boring and outright fiction where gaps make for awkward or unsatisfying storytelling. Others defend it as the only "independent" source of information to a public at the mercy of powers all too well equipped to reinvent truth in their own image.

Anyone can add to The Trust. Its contents, however, are curated by a panel of guild members that leads what amounts to no less than a small army of researchers who do their best to verify the authenticity and accuracy of everything that passes through their hands. A coterie of clockwork helpers organize and catalog all materials. The official title for these constructs is "attendants" but many quietly refer to them simply as "buddies." A number stamped on the chest of each attendant serves as identification. Those with particularly deep knowledge in a specific collection also bear a badge indicating their expertise. The Trust is open to the public. Folks looking for something specific can enlist the aid of any on-duty attendant in locating it. Guild members are also on hand for more involved tasks.

Buddy 385, Expert in Short Stories of Halfling Farm Life
One of the Many Attendants Here to Help You

Additional Stuff

I have a few Spotify playlists that I've built out that either are for or applicable to the organizations in this post.

• Deep Web playlist
• Encampment Green playlist
• Garrison Market playlist
• Hall of Words and Song playlist

Note About the Header Graphic

There is no day or night in Skyfell. There is a waxing and waning of the general brightness, but there is always light in the sky. The header graphic implies a nighttime setting. It's kind of dark and the windows clearly show that the rooms are lit up by candles, fireplaces, torches, or some other source of light. I went with this image though because it does sum up the ambiance of Highwater. I suppose I could just say that this is on a very foggy day, but that feels like a cheap verbal trick. Instead, I'd rather simply acknowledge that while the lighting is incorrect for Skyfell its mood is spot on for Highwater.

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