Daggerford

Daggerford

Geographical Information

Size: Small Towm • Location: Delembyr Vale

Societal Information

Populace: 900; 2,000 including surrounding hamlets

Religion: Chauntea, Amaunator/Lathander • Shrines: Tempus, Tymora

Imports: various trade goods

Exports: Foodstuffs, various craft goods

Political Information

Government: Duchy

Ruler: Duchess Morwen Daggerford

Military: Local militia

A walled town surrounded by pastoral fields, Daggerford's territory includes not just the town and its immediate fields, but also a handful of small hamlets for a day or two around it. The Daggerford family who rule the town style themselves "dukes" and "duchesses," and trace their lineage and right to rule back to the days when the area around Daggerford was theirs to govern in the Kingdom of Man that succeeded Phalorm in the region.

People

Most folk of Daggerford know one another, at least casually, by sight. Strangers are usually welcome, especially if they have coin to spend, unless such folk come armed and belligerent through the town. Guards stationed at each gate make note of new faces, but don't take action against those they don't recognize unless they are given reason to do so.

Duchess Morwen Daggerford

Although she is less amiable than her brother was, Lady Morwen is acknowledged as more capable of ruling Daggerford than Duke Maldwyn had been. She is well liked by the people, who understand that she has an honorable heart, and wishes what is best for Dagger- ford. She regularly trains with the militia, and is seen in the town wearing armor just as often as she is adorned in the finery befitting her station. She often visits the local shrine to Tempus, which only enhances her rep- utation as a pious woman. Lady Morwen's features are only now starting to age, as though catching up with her white hair.

Sir Darfin Floshin

Sir Darfin Floshin is an elf older than Daggerford itself. He longs to see a rise in cooperation between humans, dwarves, and elves in the region, such as was once embodied in the realm of Phalorm. Darfin has been advisor to many dukes of Daggerford through the yea.rs. Though he was rebuffed by Duke Maldwyn during his reign, there are signs that Lady Morwen may be more receptive to the advice of a gold elf who has witnessed the fall of the human kingdom of Delimbiyran, the founding of Daggerford, and all the days since.

Government

Though Daggerford has a duchess, daily rulership is in the hands of the Council of Guilds, composed of the heads of Daggerford's guilds. They meet in masks and robes, in imitation of the Lords of Waterdeep, although everyone knows who they are.

Defenses

The largest and oldest building in Daggerford is the ducal castle, a three-level keep enclosed by a two-story wall that contains its own smithy, parad ground, and stabling. The dukes of Daggerford have always kept a well-stocked larder, capable of feeding the castle's inhabitants and any citizens that it might shelter inside during a siege.

A militia guards Dagggerford. Service is mandatory for all able-bodied adults, and lasts for twenty years. All citizens living within the town receive instruction from the duchess's own soldiers in the use of spears and other weapons, and must spend at least one day a month in defense of the town, standing sentry on its walls, or patrolling the nearby roads. Their training means that the common citizens of Daggerford aren't easily cowed by armed folk demanding goods, coin, or passage, and are slightly more likely to take up work as mercenaries, caravan guards, or adventurers.

Places of Interest

• Delfen's Tower: Wizard Residence. The residence of the wizard Delfen Ondabarl, an adventuring wizard from Iriaebor who retired to Daggerford in 1355 DR. Though presumed dead by 1385 DR, he returned in 1485 DR, not a day older, to reclaim his tower. He is a patient instructor of the arcane arts, and doesn't hesitate to aid the local militia in the defense of Daggerford.
• The Shanties: Transient Housing (1c). One and two-room shacks, the shanties serve as long-term housing for as long as those in them care to pay to stay. Usually inhabited by merchants waiting out winter or by young families finding their footing. Owned by a human man named Benthil Hugman.

Mercantile

• The Clean Chin: Barber & Undertaker. Run by the shield dwarf Hunnet Honestone, who splits her building in two to serve the two aspects of her business. She lives above the shop with her elderly mother Ranna.
• Cromach's Smithy: Smithy (3c). Founded over a century ago, now owned and operated by Tholvar Cragjaw, a distant cousin to Derval Ironeater.
• Daggerthrust Ales: Brewery (3c). A booming brewery business that produces lighter-hued, Calishite-style ales, as well as those that experiment with herbal ingredients such as High Moor heather and southern-imported hops. Owned by Sturgin and Halla Brewer, Sturgin's family has a long tradition of brewing, but Halla – originally from Calimshan – missed the drinks of her homeland enough that her loving husband tried his hand at brewing them, which has turned out well for them both.
• The Decorated Man: Tailor (3c). A rock gnome illusionist named Ballick runs this tailory. He often uses his illusions to show customers what they might look like in his expensive garments. He lives above the shop with his large extended family.
• Derval's Bright Blade: Smithy (4c). A smithy that dates back to the 1300s, run until by its original master smith, the shield dwarf Derval Ironeater. Derval passed away in 1484 DR, leaving it to his grandson Ignal Ironeater.
• Gublin's Cloth & Cordage: Cloth & Rope. Owned by Gilly Gublin, who sells imported cloth and the cord that he makes upstairs, using the rope twined in the long gallery by the marvelous machine he bought from the High House of Wonders in Baldur's Gate. The quality of his rope is such that he exports it upriver.
• The Guildmasters' Hall: Mercantile Guilds. The guilds of Daggerford are small, some of them consisting only of a single business. They regulate competition and set parameters for master-apprentice relationships, as well as having a communal voice in how Daggerford is run (by the city's founding charter). They include the Smiths' Guild, Merchants' Guild, Tanners' Guild, Farmers' Guild, Watermens' Guild, Rivermens' Guild, Taverners' Guild, Scriveners' Guild, Clothiers' Guild, and the Carpenters' Guild.
• Helmick's Herbs and Oddments: Herbs & Oddments. A spice and herb shop owned by the half-elf Helmick Howager, who also tends to find strange oddments that many magicians find useful as material components.
• Jerdan's Smithy: Smithy (2c). Jerdant Went's smithy operates in the margins of the town's other smithies, focusing on projects too plain or small for the others.
• Miller's Dry Goods: Household Wares. Bess Miller owns this shop and three mills (one out of town to the north, another amid the farms west of the Floshin Estate, and a third in Bowshot, a village to the south). She is quite wealthy and eligible, although has shown no interest in her suitors. Her shop sells grain, flour, and various goods for the home.
• Sullerton Shipbuilders: Shipwrights. Owned by the Sullertons, a family led by matriarch Wilma Sullerton, who is also leader of the Carpenters' Guild. They build riverboats.
• Sword Coast Traders' Bank: Bank. A bank run by the Waterdhavian House Anteos, allowing merchants to store profits and withdraw it from other branches (currently in Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate). Though Lady Belinda Anteos has managed to secure the trust of the merchants for that function, she would also like to come into the business of loans to the locals; unfortunately, they tend to go to the Hardcheese family for such.
• Trade of the Tools: Tools & Furnishings (Refurbished) (1c). Buying and selling old tools and furniture that he has refurbished, the elderly and eccentric Old Ander is a well-loved local.

Nightlife

• The Otter's Run: Tavern. A simple tavern located by the River Gate, with a sign that is a dried and stretched otter's pelt. Its owner Davvy Harga, is also a furrier, running that business out of the tavern as well.
• The Happy Cow: Tavern (1c). A homey inn run by the Hardcheese family of halflings, where the drink is cheap, the pace is slow, and the talk is about farming. The Hardcheeses own a large dairy operation, and sell many of their wares to patrons here – their beer-and-cheese soup is particularly tasty, warm, and filling.
• The Lady Luck Tavern: Tavern (2c). A taproom dedicated to Tymora, and run by a human woman named Glenys, who encourages gambling in the tavern and has sponsored larger games of chance. A table in the corner holds Tymora's Cup, a ceremonial offering to the goddess should she want to stop by for a drink. Those who have had good luck frequently "buy a drink for the Lady," and Glenys switches out the cup in its place of prominence.
• The Lizard's Gizzard: Inn. Offering neither food nor drink, the inn's sign depicts a young boy killing a lizardman with a dagger, a reference to local legend Tyndal. Owned and operated by a half-orc woman named Sasha, half the ground floor of the inn is also a laundry. Sasha has a soft spot for orphans and unfortunates, and Sasha takes in orphan girls and women in unfortunate situations, giving them work and the opportunity to get back on their feet. She has also been known to provide space for refugees for free before.
• The River Shining Tavern: Tavern & Inn (4c). One of the oldest buildings in town, supposedly the first of them, predating even the ducal castle. Most clientele have plenty of coin to spend, among them visiting and local nobles, wealthy merchants, and even Lady Belinda Anteos of the Sword Coast Trader's Bank. There are private dining chambers frequently used by the Council of Guilds for its meetings.
• Silver Flood Inn: Inn. A mining-themed inn founded during a short-lived silver rush in the Sword Hills in the mid-1400s, with a large breakfast room that features a variety of small two-person rooms. Owned by two Northmen, Connar Filvarson and Ganfar Redgrin.

Temples & Shrines

• The Harvest House: Temple to Chauntea. Large building with an open, garden courtyard in its center. Led by Hadeshah, a priestess who grew up in the nearby hamlet of Gillian's Hill, and is uncomfortable with speaking before large groups. Three underpriests serve there.
• The Morninglow Tower: Temple to Lathander. Standing on a hill overlooking the rest of the town, the stone side of the hill that faces the town is decorated with rosy stones and glittering quartz, creating the image of the shining sun. The eastern wall is open to the rising sun. Luc Sunbright, a blustery sort of high priest, oversees the temple.
• Table of the Sword: Shrine to Tempus. A small open-sided hall of thick wood pillars, with a sword permanently driven through the altar, a simple wooden table. Known to be patronized by the duchess, the shrine has seen some recent repairs thanks to her generosity. Overseen by Darrodar Gweth, a former soldier from Waterdeep.
• Fairfortune Hall: Shrine to Tymora. A simple building dedicated to Lady Luck, recently restored by Ironeater dwarves in grand style thanks to its current caretaker, the halfling Curran Corvalin.

Trade Routes

Roads & Trails

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Waterways

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