Port Zephyr

Port Zephyr

The crown jewel of trade built on controlled suffering - where prosperity flows uphill and contamination pools below

Overview

Type: Major Trading City/Port
Population: ~10,000 permanent residents (estimated 2,000 more in transient workers and refugees)
Region: The Cerulean Reach Government: Council of Merchant Princes (7 elected representatives chosen by property owners) Known For: International trade hub, contaminated goods handling, social stratification Contamination Status: High - constant monitoring and protective measures required Imperial Presence: Economic control through debt and resource extraction

Description

Port Zephyr clings to life as the crown jewel of The Cerulean Reach, a bustling trade hub built on the bones of a pre-Cataclysm city. The city rises in stark terraces from a harbor where contaminated waters mix with clean, creating a patchwork of prosperity and suffering that captures the realities of post-The Cataclysm survival.

The natural bay that shelters Port Zephyr from storms also traps magical contamination from centuries of shipping Remnant artifacts and pre-Cataclysm salvage. The harbor glows with an unnatural phosphorescence on moonless nights, and dock workers develop telltale tremors and lesions of chronic Remnant exposure. Yet the city endures because it must—the alternative to controlled contamination is starvation in the wasteland beyond.

Built into terraced hillsides, Port Zephyr’s geography creates clear social stratification. The wealthy literally live above the contamination while the poor work in it daily. This elevation-based class system represents survival itself—every meter of height above the harbor means cleaner air, safer water, and longer life.

Geography & Layout

Port Zephyr sits in a natural harbor surrounded by hills that provide both protection and natural social stratification. The terraced construction maximizes usable space while creating drainage systems that carry contamination downhill and away from wealthy districts. Storm-resistant architecture reflects both natural weather and magical phenomena.

City Layout and Districts

Harbor District

The beating heart of Port Zephyr’s economy and its most dangerous neighborhood. Massive docks accommodate vessels from desperate fishing boats to imperial merchant galleons and jury-rigged Airships. The constant activity of sailors, dockworkers, and traders creates vibrant atmosphere shadowed by the knowledge that everyone here slowly poisons themselves for survival.

  • The Glow Docks: Eastern harbor facilities so contaminated they phosphoresce at night, worked only by the condemned and desperate
  • Warehouse Row: Stores everything from exotic goods to contaminated materials requiring protective gear
  • Decontamination Centers: Mandatory purification stations between work and residential areas

Merchant Quarter

Rising from harbor’s edge, this district houses grand bazaars and trading houses where Port Zephyr’s wealth is generated. Architecture reflects international influence and desperate improvisation—elegant facades built from salvaged pre-Cataclysm materials.

  • Grand Bazaar: Sprawling marketplace offering everything from local crafts to illegal Remnant artifacts
  • Trading Houses: International commerce centers with “purity certification” systems
  • Underground Markets: Hidden venues for goods too dangerous for surface trading

Residential Terraces

Built into hillsides using traditional construction and salvaged materials, these terraced neighborhoods house most of Port Zephyr’s population in carefully stratified hierarchy. Lower terraces house workers in cramped quarters around communal decontamination facilities. Higher terraces feature spacious housing with private purification systems.

Hill Ward

The most exclusive and safest district, perched on high hills where pre-Cataclysm ruins provide building materials and magical protection. Wealthy merchant princes maintain estates built around salvaged cores, foreign dignitaries conduct business in buildings with functioning air purification.

Daily Life

Life in Port Zephyr follows strict rhythms dictated by contamination monitoring and safety protocols. Each morning begins with Remnant readings broadcast from The Sapphire Lighthouse, determining the day’s safety levels and work assignments. Workers in the Harbor District report for mandatory health screenings before shifts, while Hill Ward residents enjoy private purification systems and clean water.

Community cooperation remains essential for survival despite sharp class divisions. Decontamination schedules, emergency evacuations, and resource distribution require coordination across districts. The wealthy depend on contaminated workers for prosperity, while workers depend on wealthy employers for access to medical treatment and purification services.

Social gatherings center around the Festival of Winds and other celebrations that temporarily bridge class divisions. Taverns like The Survivor’s Rest serve as informal town halls where news, gossip, and grievances flow freely among all social classes.

Notable Features

  • The Sapphire Lighthouse: Pre-Cataclysm magical beacon guiding ships through contaminated waters
  • The Grand Bazaar: Sprawling marketplace where legitimate goods mingle with contraband
  • The Floating Gardens: Agricultural platforms in harbor’s “safer” waters, producing crops while slowly poisoning tenders
  • Zephyr’s Spire: Seat of city government, built around pre-Cataclysm tower with functioning purification systems
  • The Skyport: Dangerous facility for airship docking, attempting to bypass ground contamination routes
  • Decontamination Gates: Checkpoints between districts with mandatory purification procedures

Architecture and Infrastructure

Port Zephyr’s architecture reflects survival needs and the harsh realities of building with contaminated materials:

  • Salvage-Based Construction: Buildings incorporate pre-Cataclysm materials of unknown contamination levels
  • Terraced Adaptation: Hillside construction maximizes drainage while creating barriers between contamination zones
  • Storm Resistance: Designed to withstand natural storms and magical weather phenomena
  • Harbor Engineering: Sophisticated dock systems accommodate various vessels while attempting to contain contamination
  • Vertical Systems: Water, waste, and air infrastructure moves contamination downhill away from wealthy districts

Public Services & Infrastructure

  • Medical Care: Settlement Clinic and District Medical Centers - radiation treatment, mutation monitoring, general healing
  • Safety Systems: Remnant monitoring network, emergency evacuation protocols, protective ward maintenance throughout the city
  • Trade Regulation: Harbor Authority customs, contamination testing, dispute resolution, weights and measures enforcement
  • Education: Survival training, contamination awareness, trade skills, literacy programs in community centers
  • Communication: Message posting at district centers, news distribution via town criers, inter-settlement communication through the harbor

Shops & Services

  • Stormhaven Shipping - Largest commercial operation with Imperial contracts, handles international trade
  • The Golden Scale - High-end trading house specializing in purity certification and luxury goods
  • Merchant’s Guildhall - Commercial dispute resolution, trade agreements, and business licensing
  • The Brass Compass Inn - International traders’ accommodation with purification services
  • Decontamination Services - Various companies providing contamination testing, cleanup, and protective equipment

Prices vary significantly by district - Harbor District services cost 50% of standard rates, Hill Ward services cost 200% of standard rates

Cultural Dynamics

Port Zephyr’s culture reflects the tension between survival necessity and social stratification:

  • Survivor Solidarity: Strong mutual aid networks balanced against vicious competition for resources
  • Contamination Hierarchy: Social status directly correlated with contamination exposure levels
  • Festival as Escape: Elaborate celebrations like the Festival of Winds provide temporary relief from survival pressures
  • Religious Adaptation: Spiritual practices helping cope with constant danger and moral compromise
  • International Influence: Diverse cultural practices from trading partners creating cosmopolitan atmosphere
  • Class Tensions: Growing resentment between those who profit from contamination and those who suffer it

DM-Only Information

Economic Significance

Port Zephyr operates on the post-Cataclysm principle that survival requires accepting calculated risks:

  • Contaminated Trade: Wealth generated from handling goods too dangerous for other settlements
  • Expendable Labor: Constant supply of desperate workers accepting contamination exposure for survival
  • Purification Services: Thriving industry in decontamination and medical treatment with monopolistic pricing
  • Risk Insurance: Financial instruments betting on worker survival and expedition success
  • Imperial Dependency: Economic relationships with The Amunrai Imperium providing security in exchange for resource extraction rights

Real Power Structure

Actual Decision Makers: The Council of Merchant Princes officially governs, but real power lies with:

  • First Speaker Kaia Sunweaver (secretly Remnant Keepers)
  • Imperial Economic Advisor (unnamed Amunrai agent)
  • Underground Dock Workers Union leadership

Secret Influences:

  • The Amunrai Imperium controls through debt and trade agreements
  • Remnant Keepers infiltration at highest levels
  • Foreign powers maneuvering for trading advantages

Corruption Networks: Every Merchant Prince takes bribes; Harbor Authority skims customs; City Watch sells protection to smugglers Underground Economy: Extensive smuggling networks, illegal artifact trade, protection rackets in every district

Contamination Reality

True Contamination Level: Critical - significantly worse than public reports indicate Hidden Contaminated Zones: Entire sections of Lower Harbor sealed off; underground tunnels filled with pre-Cataclysm waste Cleanup Deceptions: Contamination is being concentrated rather than cleaned; wealthy districts protected by moving pollution to poor areas Health Cover-ups: 60% higher mutation rates than reported; average dock worker lifespan is 15 years shorter than city average Emergency Protocols: Real evacuation plans only protect Hill Ward; Harbor District residents designated as “acceptable losses”

Imperial Intelligence Network

Active Agents:

  • Hassan al-Rimal (Merchant Prince, official liaison)
  • Captain Roderick Stormguard (City Watch infiltrator)
  • Unknown agents throughout Harbor Authority

Recruitment Targets: Dr. Lydia Clearwater (medical knowledge), Foreman Gareth Ironback (worker influence) Strategic Assessment: Critical supply hub for Remnant artifacts; strategic naval position; population ready for “protection” Hidden Assets: Safe house in Hill Ward, weapon cache in abandoned warehouse, communication crystals in Merchant Quarter Collaboration vs. Resistance: 3 Merchant Princes cooperating, 2 resisting, 2 undecided; Harbor Authority compromised; workers increasingly organized against Imperial presence

Remnant Keepers Operations

Local Contact: First Speaker Kaia Sunweaver (covers as legitimate government official) Hidden Facilities: Safe house beneath The Sapphire Lighthouse, equipment cache in Floating Gardens, communication relay in Memorial Gardens Current Missions: Protecting pre-Cataclysm knowledge from Imperial seizure, organizing resistance networks, monitoring contamination levels Knowledge Bases: Complete pre-Cataclysm harbor records hidden in lighthouse; technological schematics for purification systems; true contamination maps

Political Dynamics

  • Plutocratic Democracy: Seven Merchant Princes elected by property owners, excluding 80% of population
  • Imperial Economic Colonialism: The Amunrai Imperium controls through debt, resource extraction rights, and trade dependencies
  • Worker Organization: Underground unions providing only political voice for majority population, growing more militant
  • Regional Leadership: Port Zephyr’s wealth makes it influential among The Cerulean Reach settlements
  • Factional Corruption: Every organization compromised by survival necessities and external pressures

Economics & Resources

Hidden Wealth: Secret stockpiles of pre-Cataclysm technology in Hill Ward; offshore accounts in Imperial banks; hidden Remnant artifact caches Resource Scarcity: Clean water increasingly scarce; medical supplies monopolized; food production contaminated Trade Secrets: Exclusive routes to pre-Cataclysm ruins; contacts with distant settlements; black market pricing coordination Economic Vulnerabilities: Complete dependence on contaminated trade; Imperial debt approaching unsustainable levels; worker strike could collapse economy

Current Challenges

  • Escalating Contamination: Harbor pollution threatening city’s long-term viability - may be uninhabitable within 50 years
  • Imperial Pressure: Empire demanding greater control over Remnant artifact trade and threatening direct intervention
  • Worker Unrest: Growing organization demanding better safety protections, led by charismatic leaders
  • Infrastructure Decay: Salvaged systems failing faster than repair capacity, particularly in poor districts
  • Environmental Tipping Point: Contamination approaching levels that could cause mass evacuation
  • Resource Competition: Increasing conflict over clean water and uncontaminated materials with neighboring settlements

Current Threats and Opportunities

  • The Crimson Tide: Strange red contamination spreading from harbor depths, unknown origin or effects
  • Imperial Inspection: The Amunrai Imperium agents conducting “safety evaluations” as pretext for takeover
  • Worker Strike: Dock workers organizing over safety conditions, could cripple trade
  • Artifact Discovery: Construction uncovered powerful pre-Cataclysm facility beneath Hill Ward
  • Contamination Prophet: Remnant-touched individual predicting specific disasters, gaining followers
  • Underground Railroad: Secret networks helping contamination refugees escape to cleaner settlements
  • Foreign Investment: Aid offers from distant powers with unknown intentions
  • Festival Crisis: Festival of Winds threatened by contamination spike, potential for civil unrest

Adventure Hooks & Plot Seeds

Political Intrigue

  • Council Elections: Merchant Prince position opens, multiple factions vying for control
  • Imperial Ultimatum: Empire demands specific trade concessions or faces “intervention”
  • Worker Strike: Dock strike threatens city economy, multiple solutions possible
  • Foreign Delegation: Mysterious emissaries offering aid with unknown strings attached

Environmental Crises

  • Contamination Spike: Sudden pollution increase threatens major festival
  • Harbor Breach: Deep leak discovered, requiring dangerous underwater expedition
  • Weather Manipulation: Artificial storms threaten city, source must be found
  • Artifact Activation: Pre-Cataclysm technology awakening with unpredictable effects

Social Conflicts

  • Refugee Crisis: Mass influx of contamination victims straining resources
  • Class Warfare: Residential Terraces revolt against Hill Ward exploitation
  • Cultural Festival: Festival of Winds becomes political battleground

Economic Schemes

  • Contraband Network: Discover and decide fate of dangerous artifact smuggling
  • Purification Monopoly: Someone cornering market on decontamination services
  • Insurance Fraud: Risk assessments being manipulated for profit
  • Trade War: Commercial conflict between Port Zephyr and rival settlement

Secrets & Mysteries

  • The Deep Leak: Harbor contamination from breach in massive pre-Cataclysm containment systems
  • Merchant Prince Conspiracy: Three council members are The Remnant Keepers agents coordinating resistance
  • Imperial Infiltration: The Amunrai Imperium agents throughout city government, Harbor Authority compromised
  • The Lighthouse Secret: The Sapphire Lighthouse contains pre-Cataclysm knowledge archive, not just navigation aid
  • Worker Resistance Network: Organized labor has connections across The Cerulean Reach and beyond
  • Contamination Cure: Dr. Clearwater has developed partial treatment but keeping secret due to political pressure
  • The Deep Tunnels: Pre-Cataclysm smuggling networks connect to ancient facilities throughout the region
  • Artificial Weather: Someone is manipulating contaminated weather patterns for unknown purposes
  • The True Census: Thousands of unregistered refugees living in contaminated areas, ignored by authorities

Military & Defense Capabilities

Actual Fighting Force: 200 City Watch (poorly equipped, low morale), 50 Harbor Authority guards (better equipped, Imperial loyal), ~500 dock workers (organized, desperate) Defensive Preparations: Harbor fortifications designed for storms, not military attack; evacuation plans favor wealthy districts Hidden Weapons: Remnant Keepers weapons cache, Imperial emergency arsenal, smuggler armaments Vulnerabilities: Harbor blockade would cause immediate food crisis; contamination weapon could force evacuation; worker strike paralyzes economy Emergency Protocols: Hill Ward evacuation to prepared ships; Harbor District lockdown; Merchant Quarter barricades

District Details

Harbor District Locations

  • The Rusty Anchor Tavern: Sailor hangout and information trading post - owner knows all shipping schedules and cargo manifests
  • Stormhaven Shipping: Largest operation with secret Imperial contracts for Remnant artifact transport
  • The Glow Docks: Most contaminated work site - workers here are effectively condemned, know city’s darkest secrets
  • Decontamination Central: Primary purification facility - secretly run by Remnant Keepers agents
  • The Floating Gardens: Agricultural platforms hiding Remnant Keepers equipment cache

Merchant Quarter Locations

  • Grand Bazaar Central Plaza: Information hub and cultural melting pot - spies from every faction operate here
  • The Golden Scale: High-end trading house with connections to Imperial nobility and foreign powers
  • Underground Market Access: Hidden entrances throughout district lead to dangerous goods trade
  • Merchant’s Guildhall: Site of political maneuvering and commercial espionage
  • The Brass Compass Inn: Foreign traders share intelligence and coordinate smuggling operations

Residential Terraces Locations

  • Lower Terrace Commons: Worker housing and Dock Workers Union meeting spaces
  • Middle Terrace Gardens: Modest homes of skilled workers and minor merchants
  • Upper Terrace Estates: Wealthy residential area with private purification systems
  • Terraced Market Streets: Local commerce and neighborhood political discussions
  • Community Decontamination Centers: Neighborhood purification services and informal social centers

Hill Ward Locations

  • The Sapphire Lighthouse: Navigation beacon containing hidden Remnant Keepers knowledge archive
  • Zephyr’s Spire: Government center built around pre-Cataclysm core with advanced technology
  • Merchant Prince Estates: Individual compounds - Sunweaver estate hides resistance operations
  • Foreign Embassy Quarter: International diplomatic presence and intelligence operations
  • The Observatory: Weather monitoring station that tracks contamination patterns and magical phenomena

Stat Blocks & Mechanical Details

City Watch Guard: Use Guard statistics (MM p. 347), but with disadvantage on Perception checks in contaminated areas Harbor Authority Inspector: Use Noble statistics (MM p. 348) with Investigation expertise Dock Worker: Use Commoner statistics (MM p. 345) with Constitution saving throw proficiency

Environmental Hazards:

  • Harbor District: DC 15 Constitution save or gain one level of contamination exposure daily
  • Merchant Quarter: DC 18 Constitution save or gain contamination exposure weekly
  • Hill Ward: No contamination risk with proper infrastructure

Skill Check DCs:

  • Gathering harbor information: DC 12 (common shipping) / DC 16 (smuggling operations)
  • Navigating politics: DC 14 (basic influence) / DC 18 (Merchant Prince level)
  • Detecting contamination: DC 13 (obvious sources) / DC 17 (hidden contamination)

Loot & Treasure:

  • Hidden caches: Pre-Cataclysm technology worth 2,000-5,000 gp in Hill Ward estates
  • Valuable trade goods: Exotic spices (50 gp/lb), rare textiles (100 gp/yard), purification crystals (200 gp each)
  • Magical items: Contamination detection amulets, purification wands,

NPC Quick Reference

Kaia Sunweaver:

  • Public Role: First Speaker of The Council of Merchant Princes
  • Secret Truth: Agent of the The Remnant Keepers (x)
  • Party Relations: Neutral

NPC Connections

List all major NPCs with their roles, factions, and secrets:

  • NPC Name: Role, faction, secret agenda
  • NPC Name: Connections and relationships

Campaign Arcs

  • Base of operations for exploring The Cerulean Reach
  • Political center for resistance against The Amunrai Imperium
  • Hub for investigating pre-Cataclysm mysteries
  • Focal point for environmental restoration themes

Player Character Connections

Party History

DM Party History

  • First Visit:
  • Major Actions:
  • Reputation Status:
  • Ongoing Commitments:
  • Consequences:

Notes

DM Notes & Reminders