BACKGROUND
Multiple stories exist as to how Dragonport acquired its name. Some claim its named after a group of Blue Dragons that used to live in the Ocean below, others believe its named after the site of an ancient dragon graveyard, yet still others claim it is named after a great dragon turtle that once dwelled in the bay. Regardless of its name origins Dragonport grew from a group of fishermen and villagers berated by mercenaries and privateers whom over the years were eventually subhorned into becoming their subjects. Over time, the old pirates set up their own government in the city with each new generation becoming more prosperous.
ARCHITECTURE
Dragonport is built for functionality. Most of its buildings are squat and square tho new structures have been build atop
existing buildings to house the growing community, though some have sloped roofs to protect against sea storms. The majority of the city’s structures are wooden; stone is simply too difficult and too expensive to come by in any great quantity. Only near the central docks, and along the main thoroughfares, is any effort made to beautify the architecture, and even here such efforts involve cleaning and whitewashing more than fancy construction.
Dragonport, like other port cities, developed a mishmash of cultural styles as a by-product of its function,
rather than through deliberate effort. Along the waterfront, shopkeepers both native and foreign set up establishments to match their own preferences, or to attract a certain clientele. Homey pubs stand beside exotic restaurants, the shops of elf tailors beside the forges of gnome blacksmiths.
LAYOUT
Several paved roads lead through Dragonport, from the docks at one end to the major highway running past the city at the other. These thoroughfares are wide and reasonably well maintained. They direct travelers toward the central piers and jetties, which are in good repair and surrounded by relatively clean buildings.
The tidy and simple appearance of these central roads gives no hint to the rest of the city’s nature. Streets and alleys beyond the central thoroughfares are cramped and dirty, with broken or missing cobblestones—many are unpaved entirely. They add up to a twisted knot of random turns, with many streets unlabeled. Beyond the central jetties, the piers and their access paths are filthy and broken-down, and the surrounding buildings have similarly deteriorated. Strangers in Dragonport are encouraged to stick to the central parts of town. Those who do not know any better—or who cannot afford to put themselves up in the more expensive areas—have plenty of time to observe the two-faced nature of the port city as they wander its bewildering byways.
GOVERNMENT
COMMERCE
The Port's primary industries have traditionally been whaling and piracy, but along with the influx of new arrivals the Port has acquired just the faintest veneer of respectability.
PERSONA
Dragonport is a major city, not the pirate-infested and dirty little town of fantasy cliché. Still, it does conform to that stereotype in some respects. The city government encourages openness toward outsiders, and Dragonport’s merchants welcome foreign trade, but much of the population is gruff and surly. This attitude comes in part from frequent dealings with sailors; in part from a desire to cling to local customs in the face of foreign ideas; and in part from resentment of wealthier, more influential citizens. Despite the city’s importance to local trade, most of its citizens simply aren’t as well off as their counterparts in centers of commerce, which actively encourage merchants to do business. Like most port cities, Dragonport has a fairly high crime rate.
The city watch keeps the peace along the main thoroughfares and the central docks, scattering criminal gangs that grow too large, preventing crime from spilling over into the important neighborhoods, and ensuring the comfort and security of ship captains or caravan leaders. In the back alleys, though, travelers risk their lives—or at least their coin purses. Some citizens of Dragonport are actually proud of the city’s reputation for crime, embracing it as proof of their own toughness.
As a whole the city is more or less racially, politically, and religiously tolerant as long as one doesn't break the city laws or try the Crew's patience. That being said Undead, strange or malevolent looking outsiders will elict cries for their destruction from the general populace. The population is mostly human with nonhumans tending to live amongst themselves in self-segregated communes throughout the city.
POPULATION
Prior to the Great War, Dragonport's population was at around 100,000 individuals. After such, the city and surrounding countryside population swelled to some 500,000. Dragonport's residents are mostly human but with a fair smattering of other races.
CITY LOCATIONS
NOBLE HOUSES
ORGANIZATIONS
SHOPS
TAVERNS & INNS
TEMPLES
APPEARANCES
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