In a Neolithic proto-Megalopolis where each individual ward has its own deity, it's hard to find a denizen embracing the concept of a single, creator god. But the artisans know, for they carry the divine knowledge that can only be imparted by The Creator. For She made this world through craft and by design, and She shared this power with her children – through her ten avatars.
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| The Mesopotamian Goddess Bau |
This post continues our ongoing exploration of the City of a Hundred Gods:
Let us meet the Artisans!
Encounters in the Artisans Quarter, Day:
- 1d4 Black robed priests of Faharra (7), each one drags a sled containing 1-2 a human corpses or 3-6 dried dung cakes (excellent fuel).
- 1d8 children of artisan priests, playing with a wooden wheel. It's just a toy and has no practical applications!
- Envoy of the The Sky Serpent (49), accompanied by 1d6 Serpent Guards. They are wearing about 1d6 pounds of gold in jewelry.
- 1d8 elders, retired artisan priests are family of artisan priests, drinking mint tea and smoking quickleaf.
- Vendor willing to barter (illegally) for their goods if party do not have ballots. Roll 1d6 for goods; 1 Leather, 2 Dried meat or fish, 3 Rope and fabric, 4 bone/stone gardening tools and weapons 5 beer/wine 6 starmetal knives
- Shrine to a random god (roll 1d100)
- A flock of 1d100 pigeons OR a quadropedal dinosaur, towing a granite block towards The Stoneyards
- Swindler looking to dupe the party: as vendor (5, above) but dishonourable
- A procession, roll 1d20 and add 35: this corresponds to the ward/god being celebrated
- Pack of 2d6 hungry dogs, looking for new friends.
- Animals! Herd of 2d4 donkeys/ 1d4 elephants/ 2d20 lizard-chickens.
- Funeral/Wedding Party at a small house, spilling out onto the street
- Call the Priests of Ulthulha! This woman is having a baby!
- 2d6 Solar Guards – unless in Serpent Temple, in which case 1d12 Serpent Guards
- Roll for an encounter specific to an adjoining ward.
- Roll for an encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll for an encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll for an encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll 2 encounters specific to the ward and connect.
- Roll for an encounter specific to the ward and connect to an encounter specific to an adjoining ward
Encounters in the Artisans Quarter, Night:
- 1d4 Black robed priests of Faharra (7), on a murder mission.
- 1d8 Protectors of Kaab (10), searching for a fugitive.
- 1d4 therianthropic Priests of the Rat King
- 2d4 Arisan Priests returning to their temple in an an adjoining ward
- Scary looking giant bat, 50% chance its an aggressive bloodsucker, otherwise harmless fruitbat.
- Shrine to a random god (roll 1d100)
- A flock of 1d100 bats
- 1d6 footpads armed with blackjacks (light bludgeoning weapon)
- A group of 1d6 Artisan Acolytes, drinking and gambling, armed with clubs
- Pack of 1d12 hungry dogs, looking for new "friends".
- Remnants of a funeral/wedding party at a small house, spilling out onto the street
- Call the Priests of Ulthulha! This woman is having a baby!
- A human corpse being feasted on by 1d6 giant rats
- 2d6 Solar Guards – unless in Serpent Temple, in which case 1d12 Serpent Guards
- Roll for a night encounter specific to an adjoining ward.
- Roll for a night encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll for a night encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll for a night encounter specific to the ward.
- Roll 2 night encounters specific to the ward and connect.
- Roll for a night encounter specific to the ward and connect to a night encounter specific to an adjoining ward (and connect them)
41. The Gardener (The Sheds)
A regular grid of 30' wide lanes paved with cobbles rammed into clay. The buildings are single story, open-fronted timber or mudbrick dwellings decorated with stone, timber and bone gardening tools, sometimes serving food and drink to the gardener-priests. The lanes converge on garden squares where fruit and vegetables are grown for the the other wards of the Artisans Quarter.
- Image/icon/idol: a hieroglyph of an adze beneath a leaf
- Followers: anyone growing anything would wish for the blessing of a gardener, from the servants working the private gardens of the Noble Houses (80-89) to labourers in the Garden City (61-70). Those children of gardener-priests not ordained often remain followers of their familial deity, and defend the gardens against theft (see below).
- Priests: Clothed in tough, hooded sackcloth habits dyed a deep-green, never without a pair of obsidian-bladed secateurs at their belt. The roles and specialisations of the gardeners are vast – as are their numbers. The knowledge of The Gardener is imparted orally and via familial lines, parent-to-child. Childless Gardeners adopt orphans as apprentices to continue the tradition.
- Notes: the ceremonial tools presented outside dwellings are gathered and redistributed to the vassal states of the city four times a year, alongside new crops and cultivated plant varieties engineered by the Gardeners.
Encounters in the Sheds by day
- 1d4 gardener priests smoking quickleaf pipes in silence, perhaps contemplating a bird in a tree
- A basket of 2d12 serpents, left by the roadside. They've been collected from the gardens and are to be returned to the Priests of the Sky Serpent (49)
- 2d4 gardener priests engaged in a tree-planting ritual
- 2d4 tree sprites, visible only to the PCs
- A work gang of 2d6 labourers recruited by the gardeners to repair a lane or wall. They are carrying out their work 1-2 in a slapdash manner unbefitting the sacred district of the artisans; 2-5 with the intense concentration only the fear of divine retribution can instill; 6 with musical enthusiasm. The melody of their worksong fills the air.
- A single gardener priest accompanied by 1d6 labourers, travelling to the Garden city (61-70)
Encounters in the Sheds by night
- 1d6 giant fruit bats, 50% chance they're aggressive vampire bats
- 1d4 foxes. If one is encountered, it is a shapeshifting spirit in human form
- 1d6 sleepflower smokers from the ladders: they've heard there's a garden of poppies somewhere nearby
- 1d6 hungry denizens of the ladders, looking to supplement their diet with stolen fruit or vegetables
- 2d4 gardener priests armed with heavy groundworking tools, keeping an eye out for sleepflower smokers and thieves
- a solitary tree guardian spirit (as dryad) wandering the streets, wondering why there are so few trees
The lanes of the district converge at gardens maintained by the gardener-priests—for their own purposes or for private clients.
- Cleared land: looks like someone had plans to start something new here, but for some reason they haven't followed through. Could present an opportunity to squat
- Collective vegetable garden: maintained with all the joy and efficiency of a state-planner's least surprising fantasy.
- A flooded rice paddy, patrolled by an enormous catfish
- The Garden of Forking Paths: a labyrinth maintained by a time-travelling sorcerer
- Homunculi: a densely forested garden square conceals a single great tree. The tree's fruit are ovoid and about 1' tall, translucent enough to reveal fully formed but miniature humans growing inside.
- Night garden: by day appears well-maintained but otherwise bland. At night erupts into intensely fragranced flowers, drawing bats, moths and moon spirits.
- An orchard of mulberry trees operating as a silk garden.
- An overgrown and wild scrub, but nestled deep within a grove of nightmare fruit flowers
- Physic garden: every tree, shrub, or herbaceous perennial in this garden is grown for its medicinal properties. Some restore health or heal wounds, others repel insects or cure poisons. Proper knowledge and training in identifying the plants is needed.
- Row upon row of 3-foot high shrubs bearing delicious berries.
- Sheds: 10’x25’ timber buildings without windows. Inside, edible mushrooms are grown. One building will house a crop of 2d20 dawn mushrooms.
- Water garden: a network of rills criss-cross one another, feeding ornamental ponds of lilies. The seeds of the largest water lily restore 1 HP upon ingestion. There's approximately 1d20 per flower, and about 1d100 such flowers per garden. They're not yours though.
The intention was to conclude the ward’s remaining… 9 wards before Christmas. 49. The Serpent of the Sky and 50. The Engineer will be addressed in individual posts: this is as we move forward with the City 26 Challenge
Links
All the City of 100 Gods posts so far:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2021/02/city-of-hundred-gods-part-110-city.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/12/city-of-hundred-gods-part-210-remaining.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/02/city-of-hundred-gods-pt-310-further.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/04/city-of-100-gods-410-last-ladders.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/01/navigating-city-of-hundred-godsanother.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/12/city-of-100-gods-traders-wake.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2025/12/httpsaloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com202512city-of-100-gods-pt-6.html
All posts tagged City 26
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/search/label/City26
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