Freeport Lore
This page collects information on a number of topics concerning the City of Adventure. See The World of Freeport about regions outside of Freeport. Some topics give links to separate pages for those subjects.
The Admiralty
Freeport has not been involved in a major war for years, but as a major port it must maintain a navy. The Admiralty oversees all aspects of the city's naval defenses. First, it maintains the fleet proper, which consists of a dozen ships of various sizes.
Second, the Admiralty oversees the city's unofficial fleet, the privateers. Rather than try to quell the pirate spirit in Freeport's sailors, the early Sea Lords channeled that spirit by hiring out freebooters to other nations as privateers (legalized pirates). The Admiralty sells Letters of Marque to ship captains, allowing them to sail Freeport's colors while attacking ships of designated nations. This scheme creates so much business for the city that the privateers have their own representative on the Captains' Council.
Calendar & Holidays
For the purposes of this campaign, we will use the real-world months' names and lengths (ignoring leap-years).
Freeport climate is semi-tropical, so it does not have the same seasons experienced in higher latitudes. Instead, there is the hurricane season (starting in what would be mid-spring) and the dry season (starting in what would be mid-autumn).
The many faiths found in Freeport each have their own holy days. Perhaps the most popular of these are the solstice processions from Nodens's temple down to the sea; as a major port, Freeport depends on the good will of the sea god. Freeport also has a number of holidays unique to the city:
Captain's Day (February 3) celebrates the original Captain Drac's birthday. This celebration remains a grand event for the entire city to this day.
Swagfest (May 1), held just before the beginning of the hurricane season, celebrates the return of the highly successful Great Raid led by Captains Drac and Francisco, the first Sea Lords of Freeport. The anniversary of this event is the biggest celebration Freeport has. Even though it only lasts one day, most townsfolk take the next day off to recover from the revelry.
Drac's Fall (May 24-26), a recent holiday, commemorates the end of Milton Drac's regime. Celebrations start two days before the anniversary of his death. In the weeks leading up to the festival, townsfolk make effigies of Drac and his cronies and place them in lewd and compromising decisions outside of their homes. On the first of the three days of Drac's Fall, the locals dress up a few animals in yellow cloaks, set them loose in the streets, hunt and kill them, and feast on them that night. During the second day, temples and acting troupes put on performances and parades, filling the streets with revelers. That night, the Wizards' Guild fills the sky with pyrotechnic displays. On the third day, the drinking begins in earnest, music fills the streets, and many people set aside their reservations and act in various scandalous ways. That night, all of the effigies are collected and burned. Due to a fire in Scurvytown the first year, the effigies are now burned on rafts in the harbor.
Raidfest (November 1) is pretty much the opposite of Swagfest. It started as a means of bidding the pirate fleet farewell at the end of the hurricane season, when savage storms were no longer a danger, and continues today in spite of the city's more "legit" image.
The Captains' Council
Colors and Coins of Freeport
Freeport is a city-state and thus flies its own colors. The Freeport flag consists of a winged black hourglass on a crimson field.
In Freeport, merchants accept most coins regardless of their origins, though they weigh the coins to check their value. Freeport also mints its own coins: gold "nobles" with the city's winged hourglass on one side and a likeness of the ruling Sea Lord on the other; silver "skulls" bearing a crude skull and crossbones; and bronze and copper "pennies." Letters of credit can also be acquired from the Bank of Freeport as well as from the wealthier guilds.
Districts
See City Districts.
The Freeport Institute
The Freeport Institute was founded a century and a half ago in order to educate the poor and give the working classes a chance to overcome their humble beginnings (though most graduates are from merchant and aristocratic families). The Institute teaches students from childhood through postgraduate collegiate work. The school has ties with the Temple of Itona, which offers scholarship funds for Freeport-born poor children and provides many of the school's teachers.
Gods
See Gods of Freeport about the gods worshiped in the city.
Besides the more acceptable deities, Freeport is also a hotbed of cult activity. Because these groups usually worship demons or equally malevolent gods, their goals almost always pose dire threats to the city. Therefore cult membership and demon worship are among the few crimes in Freeport that are punishable by death.
History
See A Very Brief History of Freeport.
Law & Order
The Pirate's Code
The core of Freeport's legal system is the pirate's code, which boils down to "do whatever you want on the high seas but don't go against your fellows while in port." Even the most murderous blackguards pay heed to this unspoken agreement if they want to continue to use the city as a safe haven in which to resupply their ships, dispose of booty, and blow off steam after long sea voyages. Those who violate the code violate the laws, and it's for these scum that Freeport has its laws.
The Sea Lord's Guard and The Watch
The Sea Lord's Guard has been around for nearly two centuries. They evolved from a band of brutes into something of a police force. However, this role ended with the current Sea Lord. The Guard has been militarized and placed under the command of the Sea Lord's father, Marshall Maeorgan, and is now limited to security for the Old City and a personal bodyguard for the Sea Lord.
At the same time, the Sea Lord created the Watch, which keeps the peace in the rest of the city. Each district has a precinct office; the more wealthy the district, the better the watchmen, and the better the pay. The Merchant District is considered a plum assignment, while the dregs of the force get assigned to Scurvytown.
Neither the Guard nor the Watch enter Bloodsalt, which is policed by Draegar Redblade's hobgoblin mercenaries.
Crime and Punishment
Minor offenses (such as blackmail, bribery, and burglary) are punishable by fines, or flogging (public whipping) for repeat offenders.
More serious crimes are punished with flogging, hard labor, imprisonment, or exile, depending on the severity of the crime and the convict's past offenses. Those sentenced to hard labor are sent to farm or cut timber outside the city, or occasionally to work for the wronged party. Those sentenced to imprisonment are sent to the Tombs (the prisons of the Fortress of Justice) or, worse, the Hulks (decommissioned ships anchored outside the harbor). Exiled convicts face imprisonment or death if they ever return to Freeport.
Freeport rarely executes its criminals, as such practices smack of the tyrannical rule of nations on the Continent. (Likewise, mutilation and slavery are never used.) However, some acts cannot go unanswered, and frequently earn a death sentence (usually by beheading). These include burning a government building, cult membership or demon worship, espionage, mass murder, slavery, and treason.
The Sea Turtle
Legend claims that Freeport's wharves are built upon the back of a slumbering giant sea turtle, which lies buried under tons of sand, mud, and stone. If the turtle were ever to awaken, it would dig itself out and move off, taking the wharves along with it. In order to appease the beast, the Sea Lord makes a sacrifice every decade, but most folks on the wharves make their own offerings by spilling a few drops of ale or wine in order to insure the turtle's continued deep sleep.
Some craftsmen in the city carve small driftwood models of the sleeping turtle, complete with docks and houses upon its back. Though no self-respecting Freeporter would own one, they are popular with tourists.
Serpent People
The mysterious, shapechanging serpent people dwell in the shadows of Freeport, but few in the city know much about them beyond their involvement in some of the most notorious cultist plots in recent years (including Milton Drac's).
The Serpent's Teeth
Tech Level
Freeport assumes an early Renaissance tech level, with the advanced sailing ships, lighter weapons and armor, and early gunpowder weapons that are associated with the Age of Piracy. Here is quick overview of available technology that is more advanced than the usual "medieval" standard:
Armor & Weapons: At sea, the weight of armor is a liability, and all but the lightest gear is a sure invitation to drowning. Reducing physical protection means that successful fighting styles depend on speed and mobility. Offhand weapons replace bulky shields, and the rapier and cutlass replace heavier blades. These preferences carry over onto land, where bulky arms and armor often attract more unwanted attention than they keep away. The hand crossbow and repeating crossbow are available, though still exotic.
Firearms: These weapons were only invented in Freeport a decade or so ago, by a gnome named Kolter, so are still rare and expensive.
The Printed Word: Printing presses have been available for a few generations. The presses themselves remain rare and costly, but their products have become affordable to the common man. Broadsheets (newspapers and public notices) cost only a few coppers each, while the cheapest books begin at a few gold. Works with fancy type or illustrations remain expensive, largely due to the time required to set the type, engrave the image plates, and bind the finished book in a cover worthy of the content. (Note that scribes remain in high demand for copying books that have limited audiences and thus never see a press.)
Sewers: Renaissance cities are more populous than medieval ones, so sanitation becomes even more critical. In many cities (including Freeport), elaborate sewer systems are the answer. The city often remains just as grubby as it was a few centuries before, but without the sewers, the increased population would soon drown in filth--if a plague didn’t wipe it out first.
Ships & Navigation: Sailing ships are becoming quite advanced, and can stay at sea for months. Navigation aids such as the sextant, compass, and accurate sea charts are now common (though still costly). Clockwork devices are sophisticated enough to provide accurate time-keeping, and provide an attractive option for spellcasters who enchant constructs.