Introduction to the Hammerstadt Charter
The Hammerstadt Charter is a tumultuous City-state, where strength in numbers and loyalty to their Syndicate keeps the citizens of the nation in line. Built upon a history of revolt against Monarchy and the embracing of a unifying Charter, Hammerstadt has a reputation of being made up of thugs and rogues, but the truth is more complex. Proud workers are the cornerstone of the people; their faces and bodies are marked with tattoos which display the Coterie and Syndicate they belong to. Pride in their work and their affiliations go hand in hand as each Syndicate watches over an area of National commerce. Oath Ink – Magical Ink unique to The Charter – is used when creating these tattoos.
The people of Hammerstadt are industrious solution finders, even if the solution may seem unsavoury to some. Not above a theft or con, and with a culture where violence is seen as a means to an end, many of the citizens are card carrying members of the wider international Guilds.
What this nation loves above all is infamy. Even those who prefer to hide in the shadows, work hard to make their deeds and creations known throughout the realms; a tale of your past on the lips of bard is worn like a badge of honour here. Reputation and your word are all.
But there are rules, and woe betide those who break them. The public removal of their tattoos may be the least of their worries… Disruptors cause trouble for everyone, but ingenuity is prized. Tinkerers and those who work with Forge magic are seen as upstanding members of society, whereas magical weavings of other Spheres are held at a respectful distance, with the smoking remains of Zweibug Castle as a potent reminder of magic used without restraint in the city limits.
Wealthy Coteries act as patrons and sponsors of art, trade, and invention. For the price of your future membership to their Syndicate, you may find yourself apprenticed to a master, all your magic school fees paid, or your revoked merchant licence reinstated… Oaths and alliances are all, and these are worn very publicly.
Geography of the Hammerstadt Charter
The Hammerstadt Charter is a sprawling city-nation, sitting on the coast of the Elandrian sea between fellow Commonwealth nations of the Republic of Portavas and the Urdrevan People, navigators of the sea and the land. Hammerstadt, as it is usually referred to, serves as a welcome port for both nationalities of traveller and is the cornerstone of trade in the Realm of the Commonwealth.
Founded from the once warring twin cities of Hammerplatz and Zweiburg, a few smaller towns – once outlying satellite communities which provided labour and produce to the larger twin cities – are now fully recognised parts of the Nation. Each of these collective towns are separated by the river Waden and therefore divided into four districts, with the fifth, The Westwyk a colony town up the coast.
Hammerplatz, the First District of the City
This is the seat of politics, and international relations. The Castle of Hammerplatz is now the headquarters of the Syndicates’ regular collective bargaining meetings, arbitration, and where they make larger Nation affecting decisions. The Coteries who deal in manufacture and craft of mundane and magical items alike have most of their workshops and offices in Hammerplatz, and hundreds of apprentices work round the clock to hopefully one day become masters of their trade. Here also reside the magic schools devoted to Forge magic, and Forge magic alone, with study into other spheres relegated to The Westwyk for the good of the city proper. While temples are scattered across both cities, the largest and best-funded of them reside in Hammerplatz.
Location of the Quencher Syndicate – Manufacture and Craft
Zweiburg, The Second District
This was once the most grand part of the city, but when Queen Henkla launched her campaign against Hammerplatz with disastrous results for her own castle, much of the area was abandoned. In the first two centuries following, it became a lawless district where only the most desperate or dangerous lived. In the last century the district has been rebuilt, with a quarantine zone around the still magically volatile Zweiburg Castle, and the air of danger only brings in more visitors to the district’s artistic centres, full of theatres, galleries and other artistic endeavours. It is now also the home of the Hammerstadt branch of the Court of Daggers, using the remains of what was once the Zweiburg Castle garrison on the edge of the quarantine area, and is the rallying point for the various mercenary companies who call the city their home when they are called upon to form up into an army.
Location of the Ringelnatter Syndicate – Art and War
Klarasburg, The Third District
This is the breadbasket of the nation – The Farm Lands. Located on the Hammerplatz side of the river Waden, here you can find the orchards, grain growers, foresters, dairy and livestock farms, coop and poultry, and flower farms. They are also regularly home to Urdrevan caravans and traders, bringing in novelties from across the continent, so a part of the city walls here is reinforced as a massive menagerie to host the Urdrevan beasts of burden. Here they process their flocks, herds and drovings, shearing enormous beasts of burden and offering annual access to a centre of trade to their itinerant neighbour nation.
Location of the Wheatsheaf Syndicate – Agriculture and Gastronomy
Corvolis, The Fourth District
This is where most of the trade takes place. Foreign ships and merchants come to trade in the ports here, and large market districts mingle with side-streets full of stalls and pop-up business on a seasonal basis run by the less affluent citizens. Here many of the “messier” businesses operate; the tanners, dyers, butchers, and lime kiln operators are among just some of the smellier professions that call Corvolis home. Most of these are members of the Quencher Syndicate of Manufacture and Craft, relegated to cheaper real estate by the great and good.
Located in Corvolis, the Shadow Market operates in an enchanted zone for those who know the way in, where it is said that anything a person may want is able to be acquired, for barter rather than coin.
Corvolis is full of workers who get by on short contracts – aligning themselves with Coteries for set periods, moving with the flow of industry and commerce. Many a Coterie Speaker or Syndica Burgher has made their start as a Corvolis Freelancer, doing what work they can find and climbing the ladder of commerce from the very bottom to the very top.
Location of the Magpie Syndicate – Freelance Workers
The Westwyk, the Fifth district
Though it is not connected to the rest by land or bridge, The Westwyk is a town and collection of islands that was a Zweiburg colony until the Changing Tide, the historical event that created the Republic of Portavas. They refused the offer of joining the fledgeling nautical nation, continuing a reputation of stubbornness that continues to this day. Provides fish to the city among other maritime imports, many from the main city consider them odd – indeed being “sent to Westwyk” is a threat in many Coteries. Dredgers and Toshers are rife here, grubbing up what they can to make enough for their next meal, alongside some of the most eminent scholars in the city, exiled to The Westwyk to research far from the city.
Vellichor, the city’s remaining college of magical research is located on a small island off The Westwyk, and is tolerated as long as it can be quarantined if the need arises.
Location of the Crossed Keys Syndicate – Magic and Scholarship
Notable places
The Rispetto Way plays a massive part in the peacekeeping of the Nation. This bridge, surrounded on both sides by leaning and rickety buildings is the ancient route joining the once rival hilltop cities of Hammerplatz and Zweiburg. It was neutral ground throughout the wars, where parleys were made and peace agreements reached. It is now a central part of the city, with displays of sports, combat and mixtures of both available to be watched by braying crowds, and shops selling all sorts of amusements lining the way.
The Charnel Road is the major road from Hammerstadt to Morvalis from the Corvolis Gates, where a constant stream of deceased Hammerstadt citizens leave the city. Nearby is the Morvalis Embassy, where many Hammerstadt citizens sign up to sell their corpses for the Morvalis armies upon their death – many members of whom are recognisable in their origins by the number and quality of their Syndica tattoos.
The Outlands; the land for a dozen miles outside the city limits is open land – stripped of usable materials for the Forges or ancient lumber worth using in building, but is legally common ground. Citizens have the right to collect firewood and graze animals here, with the understanding that the City is not responsible for any loss or theft of belongings that are left unattended. Animals tend to be painted or tagged with symbols of Coteries to show ownership in case of confusion or an attempt to sell the beast in the more unscrupulous markets of the city.