Korvosa

The City of Korvosa, Jewel of Varisia

Areas
Korvosa is split up in a number of districts

North Point
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The Three Rings Tavern lies in North Point, in the Five Corners area

East Shore
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The Gray
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The Heights
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Midland
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South Shore
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Old Korvosa
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Well-known locations
Korvosa is home to a number of famous buildings and sights

The Academae
Prestigious and highly esteemed, the famed Acadamae attracts students from as far away as distant Geb and even—to the annoyance of the far-more ancient colleges there—Cheliax. The Acadamae teaches all eight schools of magic, but its primary focus lies in conjuration. Regardless of an apprentice’s specialization (the Acadamae only teaches specialists) every student at the college must pass a grueling exam in conjuration in order to graduate. Thus, the college does not allow its students to forsake learning of conjuration. Rumors speak of those attempting to quit the school becoming test subjects for students of necromancy, but to date no one has verified these stories.

Shrouded in secrecy, the campus’s 30-foot-high walls only barely conceal the grand Hall of Summoning. Visitors and residents cannot hope to ignore the presence of the Acadamae, but since very few people unconnected with the college know what happens within it, the place births abundant (and sometimes ludicrous) rumors.

Tosti studied at the Academae.

Castle Korvosa
The centerpiece of the city, Castle Korvosa towers over every other building. Two pieces comprise Castle Korvosa: the Grand Mastaba and the high-walled citadel itself. Together, Castle Korvosa rises high above Citadel Hill. Only the monarch, his immediate family, the seneschal of the castle, and his family may live in Castle Korvosa. Either man can invite long-term guests (such as the former king’s small harem), but the other can evict these guests at any time (except during times of war). Since the completion of the main walls in 4464, multiple lord magistrates, seneschals, and monarchs have added to the section of the castle within the high stone walls. As such, despite a relatively consistent neo-Chelaxian styling, the castle’s main keep contains many mismatched and randomly placed towers, walls, and stairs.

Grand Mastaba: This four-sided sandstone pyramid is built to a cyclopean scale. A set of stairs cut for humans rises up the center of the northeastern face of the pyramid. One corner of the massive pyramid appears crumbled and worn, but this is not the result of poor construction. Rather, the attacks of lazy masons and stoneworkers have caused the looting and degradation of the corner, a practice made illegal by Eodred I. Prior to the arrival of the Chelaxians, the Grand Mastaba served as a Shoanti holy site and strongpoint in the area. The Shoanti built a semi-permanent encampment at the base of the pyramid, as well as a rough wooden palisade atop it. This allowed the natives to control the area for hundreds of years and repulse attacks from other tribes and savage humanoids alike. When the Chelish colonists finally wrested control of the hill and pyramid from the Shoanti, they found a perfectly smooth pyramid of incredible proportions with a flattened top. Investigation of the site determined that the pyramid’s builders constructed it with the flat top in mind, and that it did not bear that feature from incompleteness. When the Chelaxians gained control of the pyramid, they stripped it of the Shoanti’s wooden constructions and immediately set to work building a stone wall around the perimeter of the top.

The Keep: The castle itself is formed of an immense blackmarble keep. Multiple towers rise from the roofed keep, including the impressively large Epochal Tower (housing a clock maintained by Goupie Capabopple; see area M4) and the impressively tall Seawatch Tower. Dozens of guards patrol the keep at all times, with more living in or near the castle and ready to come to its defense at a moment’s notice. Formerly, Sable Company marines also lived in and guarded the keep, and they kept a hippogriff aerie in one of the towers therein. The Crimson Throne, seat of power for the monarchs of the city, stands on the third floor of the keep. It is the only chair on the floor. Visitors and guests are expected to stand or kneel.

Castle Volshenyk
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The Shingles
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Three Rings Tavern
This quiet tavern belongs to retired adventurer and former Pathfinder Theandra Darklight. It has served as your base of operations for most of your time in Korvosa