Steelhame

The City of Smiths

The great city of Steelhame is sacred to Moradin First-Forger. It certainly lives up to its title as well; Steelhame is home to numerous foundries, forges and smelters, all turning the ore that comes out of the many mines within a day of the city's walls into the iron and steel products Steelhame is so justly famous for.

Steelhame is also home to the largest population of dwarves outside of the Anvil Vale, far to the northeast. Three major dwarven clans make up about a third of its population, including the Elder Brunethar, who acts as representative for the Hammer Thane, the true ruler of the dwarves in the Known World. Elder Brunethar enjoys a set on the King of Steelhame's council, and is accorded all the respect he deserves as a minor lord, dignitary and leader.

A thick haze often sits over Steelhame's westernmost edges, especially late in the day, thanks to the ample metalworking that the city sees on a regular basis. Fortunately, once the foundries and smithies shut down for the day, the cool seabreeze that blows in off the water over the night clears the air.

The Steel King holds his court from Castle Steelhame, the impressive fortification that rises up in the middle of the city, overlooking both bay and lower Crafts Ward. Steelhame boasts several wards, each of which is separated from the other by an impressive wall. These wards include:

Castle Ward

The Castle Ward is fairly small, encompassing Castle Steelhame and a smattering of yards, gardens and outbuildings.

Steel Ward

The manufacturing, smelting and smithing foundation of Steelhame's wealth is found in the Steel Ward. Though the cool night winds often blow the haze away from most parts of the city, the Steel Ward is almost perpetually shrouded. Only when it rains does the sky above this ward clear, and when it does so, the rain puddles left behind usually stink of coke and other smithing chemicals. Because of this haze, the Steel King has forbidden anyone from living in the Steel Ward. At dusk, it is closed up by the guards, and no one permitted to enter.

Market Ward

The Market Ward sits between the Sea Ward and the Lords' Ward - unsurprisingly, it is the largest and generally busiest of the wards. Most of the non-metal craftsmen and merchants in the city work and live here, and even those who work in the Steel Ward generally lay their heads to rest in one of the dwellings in this part of the city.

Sea Ward

The docks form the heart of the Sea Ward, although it is also well-frequented for its taverns, inns and similar locales that specialize in the needs of travelers, including merchant blocks that sell things for quite a bit more than similar goods in the Market Ward.

Lords' Ward

The Lords' Ward is home to the richest and most powerful of the peoples in Steelhame. It completely surrounds the Castle Ward, and also generally contains the temples and other civic locales. The Halls of the Forge, the local temple to Moradin as patron of the city, are found here, and include a few side shrines to Bahamut, Kord and Erathis.

Slag Ward

The poor district of Steelhame is called the Slag Ward for one reason: much of the slag run-off from the nearby Steel Ward is gathered into the slag fields of the region on a daily basis. Many of the people in this part of town make their livings through drudge work, the most iconic of which is slag-gathering - the process of finding hardened chunks of slag of decent quality to powder down for use as fertilizer, purchased by the farmers just outside the city.