Todesstadt

World of Darkness -- Pax Romana

Quote

"Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again."
-- (“The Dunwich Horror”, August 1928)

Introduction

"Welcome my friends to Todesstadt! Welcome to the grand-burial-mound, the subterranean necropolis, the crypt-city of the half-dead. Here and here alone, those cursed with undeath in all its manifold forms may find acceptance and safety. In this city, the living are but food, or pets, or servants, or slaves. Deep beneath the surface of the earth, we creatures of darkness, we children of lesser gods have established our own civilization. Within Todesstadt you will find subterranean streets lined by stately tomb-abodes and illuminated by witch-fire. Here night becomes day and day becomes night as businesses dedicated to the pleasure and profit of the unliving open their macabre doors welcoming you inside to peruse all the strange and wondrous goods that they have to sell. In the black streets of Todesstadt the very secrets of Death itself are for sale to the highest bidder, but all sales are final and there are no guarantees and no refunds. No one if forbidden entry, but you may not like what you find or what finds you, so consider yourself duly warned."

Appearance

Todesstadt is an eclectic necropolis built with combined elements from Celtic, Norse and Roman architecture.

Climate

Todesstadt is a subterranean city that lies fifteen-hundred feet below the surface in Southern Germania. Humidity remains relatively high year round due to the presence of several underground rivers and lakes. The entire city is contained within one large limestone cavern. The temperature remains constant at about 60 degrees and the humidity remains fairly high at about 50 percent. The region

Economy

The economy of Todesstadt is a complex thing, there is no local currency, but the living often serve as chattel or food equally, and secrets and items of beauty still hold a fascination for the undead. Perhaps above all, it is power that the undead crave and that currency comes in many forms. All major trades are conducted in the market-square before the Temple Sanctum and observed by one of the Ältestenrat. Lesser bargains are carried out everywhere and in this city, bargaining is a science.

Geography

Regions

The under-city of Todesstadt is shaped like a wheel with jagged spokes radiating outward towards the city's five gates. There are ten regions, some of which are governed city districts, while others are autonomous zones beyond anyone's control.

Temple Sanctum

Shade

Dubnolissos

Nastrond

Ashgate

Avernus

Lichgate

Shadowgate

Annwynog

Blood Gate

History

The secrets of the city belong to the Ältestenrat.

Population

-- City (Unknown) - 762 AUC

Wiedergänger (Revenants)

~ Caomhán -- {KEE-wan} -- A Revenant beauty and sought after courtesan

~ Arthfael -- The Great Prince -- A Revenant of Giant extraction

~ Ulrich -- {UWL-rikh} -- The Prosperous -- A powerful merchant

~ Alda -- The Elder Lady -- The First Revenant

~ Tacita -- The Silent -- A Revenant Assassin

~ Caesonia -- Queen of the Revenants

Nachtmenschen (Night-folk)

~ Doireann -- Fomorian Beautiful One

~ Helreginn -- Jotun

~ Fachtna -- Half-Alfar

~ Clíona -- Banshee

Außenweltler (Outworlders)

~ Cercyon -- Greco-Roman Lord of Fire

~ Mors -- Roman Goddess of Death

~ Morpheus -- Greco-Roman God of Dreams

~ Siobhán -- Celtic Goddess of Battle, Death & Storms

Sterbliche (Mortals)

~ Dubhshláine -- Water Merchant

~ Fáelán -- Procurer of Flesh

~ Angharad -- Owner & Proprietor of Lóiste Domhain an Tobair

~ Grimhilt -- A woman with an axe to grind

~ Etzel -- A mercenary and reaver for hire

~ Ascanius -- A survivor of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest

NPC Prototype 2

Blutbäder

A house of drinking, as in blood.

~ Unordentlicher Ort -- This tavern is known for its local style private rooms. It is a two-story stone building with a good reputation. The owner is a woman in black known only as the Widow.

~ Witwe -- Owner and proprietress

~ Horte -- Slave and helper to Witwe.

Gräber Geschnitzt

Tomb-houses vary in size and elegance from lowly hovels (a veritable pile of stones) to a grand mausoleum (a veritable rookery of the undead).

Halle der Erinnerung

The Halls of Remembrance serve as cemeteries for those of the undead who have fallen to the final death and the city has three.

~ Yr Ardd Esgyrn -- The Garden of Bones

~ Die Staubhalle -- The Hall of Dust

~ Idolorum Dormiunt -- The Vault of Ashes

Der Ältestenrat

Der Ältestenrat or Council of Elders is made of the oldest and most cunning undead in the city.

~ Oberour ar Maro -- The Eldest is little more than a skeleton in a dark cloak and yet all his enemies have fallen to his bronze sickle and he is said to be one of the legendary Ankou.

~ Hadubert -- The Lord of Battle feeds upon the fear of the living, it is he who by night leads the warriors of Todesstadt to raid nearby villages and towns.

~ Chlodovech -- The Red Chieftain is a drinker of human-blood who especially savors the vintage of virgin maidens.

~ Porcius Atilius -- The Little Pig is a corporal undead animated by an undying hunger for living flesh, he prefers to soften his prey up first before eating them alive.

~ Secundus Cassius -- Little more than a Shade, Secundus Cassius is a master of tactics and strategy who hungers for the warmth of the living.

~ Vulfgang -- The Skull-Keeper is an eater of intellect and the meat of brains, he is a greater version of the hungry-dead and remembers secrets long forgotten to men.

~ Egilhard -- The Master of Silence is a Germanic lich, he devours life and learning equally, but he can be bargained with if one is careful.

Tageswache

The Tageswache or Day-Watch are the guardians of the city while its undead citizens slumber. Primarily the Tageswache are mortals gifted with certain powers by their undead masters and they sometimes sport actual enchanted weapons or armor.

~ Bricius -- The most senior and deadliest of the Tageswache, he is a Gaul who has seen his very civilization decimated and now serves the lords of Todesstadt as their chief guardian.

~ Nechtan

~ Hariwald

~

Kriminalität

~ Straßenarabs -- Local street-gang

~ Roslindis -- Leader of the Straßenarabs

Mythic Objects

~ Olwyn yr Atgyfodiad -- A myth among the undead of Todesstadt, few have even heard of it and fewer still know the meaning of it, but for those that do it represents an opportunity for a mortal life.

Reparaturhaus

The Reparaturhaus or the House of Repair.

~ Kamilla -- Präparatorin of the Reparaturhaus. Kamilla is the city's finest taxidermist and as such is much sought after for her skill at repairing and transforming dead flesh.

Stadttore

There are five gates or Stadttore: the Ashgate, the Bloodgate, the Dustgate, the Lichgate and the Shadowgate. Each gate leads to one of the fabled rivers of the Underworld, but which gate leads to which river? It is said that only Hadubert, the Lord of Battles knows for sure, but there are rumors of a Sterbliche (prominent mortal) who also knows the waterways and how to bypass them to gain the land of the living.

~ Ashgate --

~ Bloodgate --

~ Dustgate --

~ Lichgate --

~ Shadowgate --

Tageshäuser

Tageshäuser or day-houses are safe-houses for those undead who cannot afford a tomb or are hunted and they vary from the plain and simple to the elegant and fortified.

Unheiliger Boden

There are few places even in Todesstadt that count as unholy-ground, but the Dormiens templi Dei or the Temple of the Sleeping God is one such place. Even the undead fear to visit this bleak sanctum and then only for the act of sacrifice.

~ Dormiens templi Dei -- The Temple of the Sleeping God

~ Sorores Silentium -- The Sisters of Silence watch over the Dormiens templi Dei, moving in silence and never speaking, they communicate only with their hands in a language only known to the citizens of the city.

Vergnügungshalle

The city has just one amusement hall or Vergnügungshalle {Fair-nugungs-halle}, the Deep Well Lodge is known for its peculiar private rooms. It is a three-story brick building with a bad reputation. It is owned and operated by Angharad, a mortal who knows wine and dine the creatures of the city.

~ Lóiste Domhain an Tobair -- The Deep Well Lodge, often abbreviated as the Deep. {Loyst-Dowan-an-Tobair}

~ Angharad -- Owner & Proprietor of Lóiste Domhain an Tobair

Reference Materials

~ Hungrige Leiche

Soundtracks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k68thGEDlx8&t=6588s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEzWqUhnbVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wofz8LRon6E (water)

Websites

https://www.thoughtco.com/rivers-of-the-greek-underworld-118772