Isarn and its districts

For administrative purposes, each of Isarn's Districts is broken into several sub-districts known as Quarters; whether by planning or by happenstance, this results in a nice round fifty. Four Districts are considered subdivided before Quartering, as follows:

  • Vieille Ville (Main and Outer)
  • Nord Rivière (Est and Oest)
  • Sud Rivière (Est and Oest)
  • Wine District (Est and Oest)

Each Quarter has a name*, and when giving an address, residents will often give the District and Quarter as part of it, such as '34 Place des Invalides, Contentieuse', in order to better orient their conversational partner as to where in the city the address is located. (This helps visitors less than you'd think it should.)

La Rouille is, for administrative purposes, considered part of Le Commune's 1st Quarter.

Isarn

  • CN Metropolis
  • Corruption +2, Crime +1, Economy 0, Law +2, Lore +2, Society 0
  • Qualities Cultured, Defiant, Gang-Ridden*, Notorious, Rumormongering, Under-City*
  • Danger +40; Disadvantages Impoverished, Martial Law, Oppressed**

Demographics

  • Government Fascistic autocracy
  • Population 42,800

Marketplace

  • Base Value 4,800gp Purchase Limit 50,000 gp
  • Spellcasting 4th
  • Minor Items 4d4 Medium Items 2d4 Major Items 1d4
    • Available magic items are re-rolled at the end of every week; if you have something particular in mind, however, they can be commissioned or you can try to find out if someone is wanting to sell or is about to finish making it.


  • * - Modified (Gang-Ridden derived from Cruel Watch)
  • ** - Downgraded

Stat Usage

Each of a settlement's stat blocks are added to certain rolls, as follows:

  • Corruption +2: To Bluff vs. city officials/guards, Stealth outside (not underground)
  • Crime +1: To Sense Motive vs. Bluff, Sleight of Hand to pick pockets
  • Economy +0: To Artistry, Craft, Perform*, Profession to Generate Income
  • Law +2: To Intimidate to force friendly, Diplomacy vs govt officials or to call guard
  • Lore +2: To Diplomacy to Gather Info, KS when using city libraries
  • Society +0: To Disguise, and Diplomacy to alter attitude of govt official
  • Danger +40: To random encounter table rolls (or chance for encounter)

These apply to all appropriate rolls, whether by you or by an NPC; obviously, the 'Danger' stat is essentially GM-only. If you are using Hero Lab and have ShadowChemosh's Adjustments, you can apply a 'Skill Bonus, Situational' for each of these, and that'll show up on your sheet in the correct places.

* - Due to Cultured, Isarn is always considered to be Prosperous (+1 to Economy) for the purpose of certain checks to generate income; briefly, the check has to create or express something 'artistic' in the 'high art' sense of the term -- statuary, paintings, opera, drama, orchestral music, and the like. Street musicians play the lute and sing arias and solos, or band together and perform 'chamber music' and the like. 'Low' art -- bawdy comedies and music, farcical plays, street art/graffiti, and similar activities, fiddlers with monkeys -- do not receive this bonus, but do not receive any penalty; the point is the people appreciate the 'high art' more.

* - The names of the 50 Quarters of Isarn have not been established, in part because while Isarn is modeled very closely after Paris, some of those Parisian Quarters outlines are crazy. As well, while this Isarn's map is more closely modeled after Paris, it does not have twenty arrondissements, each broken into four quarters, for a total of 80. Players are encouraged to come up with names, which will eventually be added to each District's page.

As well, Eponine d'Ambreville draws a harrow card to determine which district La Marquise is going to haunt each night she goes out; if we can work together to get district names, a small sense of the neighborhood (as appropriate to its District, sites found therein, and its location otherwise), and perhaps offer potential card matches to each Quarter, that would be helpful.