Toreon

Toreon was one of the four great human kingdoms of the Age of Wonders, alongside Aegea, Menasta, and Rictaria. Of those four kingdoms, Toreon is the only major human kingdom to survive into the era of Under the Bus.

The other great kingdoms of the Age of Wonders were the elven kingdoms of Alliandea and Seratollia, and the dwarven kingdom of Krondos, ruled before the Fall by Thorn Runehammer. The dwarves withdrew from the surface world after the Fall, leaving Toreon as the only surviving major human kingdom still functioning as a major political power.

The Last Human Kingdom

The Fall destroyed the other great human kingdoms.

Aegea was destroyed before the breaking of the world, and its ruins were eventually swallowed by the sea.

Rictaria was obliterated during the battle between Magerris and Correries, when a mountain rose directly beneath the city. The mountain became known as Godsmount.

Menasta was eventually destroyed by its continuing war with the undead and the demons emerging from the Demon's Horn.

Toreon survived.

After the Fall, the smaller kingdoms and cities scattered across the surviving human lands largely maintained their independence. Toreon nevertheless became the only remaining major human power capable of asserting dominance over the surrounding lands. It declared itself the ruling nation of the entire continent, although this authority was only loosely held because Toreon lacked the practical ability to enforce its claim everywhere.

By the Under the Bus era, Toreon was generally regarded as the capital of the human empire.

The City

Toreon is enormous. By the Under the Bus era its population had reached approximately 217,000 people, with the population having spilled far beyond the boundaries of the original city.

The city itself is divided sharply between the old city proper and the enormous settlement that has grown around it.

The contrast between the two is striking.

The Inner City

The original city was largely spared the destruction of the Fall. Its architecture remains an extraordinary surviving example of the civilization of the Age of Wonders.

The inner city contains immense buildings, including towers reaching high into the sky and structures spanning multiple city blocks. Buildings seem to flow together into enormous, carefully designed architectural complexes rather than existing as isolated structures.

From a distance, the city resembles a massive work of art and serves as one of the last visible reminders of the glory of the Age of Wonders.

Several of Toreon's most important institutions and landmarks are located within this older city.

Among the most prominent are:

the old Travel Gate, a large shining arch spanning a huge courtyard;
the Colosseum, which houses the city's gladiatorial pits;
the former royal palace, which belonged to Toreon's rulers before the Church took control;
the enormous cathedral of Demmazon, which has become the center of the Church's government and the residence of Samos, the High Priest-King;
the Grand Library, located in the upper-class district near the old palace.

The Outer City

The population explosion following the Fall eventually pushed beyond the boundaries of the ancient city.

The outer city is consequently a dramatic contrast to the inner city. It contains relatively few buildings higher than one story, and many structures are poorly constructed or temporary. Thousands of tents and other makeshift dwellings have spread around the original city, creating a sprawling shantytown surrounding the ancient core.

The outer city is crowded and active. Merchants hawk their wares, children play in the streets, entertainers perform, beggars seek assistance, and people move constantly through the enormous settlement.

The distinction between the old city and the newer settlement is not merely architectural. It also reflects the enormous social and economic changes that have occurred since the Fall.

Government

Toreon is officially the capital of the human empire and claims authority over the human lands surrounding it.

In practice, the city itself is governed directly by the Church of Demmazon.

The Church originally sought to combat the spread of worship of the newly risen gods and the return to older religions after the Fall. It issued the Edict of Unification Under One God.

What began as an attempt to restore religious unity eventually became the basis for the Church's assumption of governmental power. The Church gradually took control of Toreon's government, and Samos became its High Priest-King.

The Church's agents operate throughout Toreon's territory. Their responsibilities include identifying heresy, suppressing dissent, and enforcing the Edict.

The Church is wealthy, powerful, and influential. Its authority is maintained not only through religious devotion but through fear. Open worship of gods other than Demmazon is prohibited in Church-controlled territory, and people are encouraged to report heretical activity.

Those who refuse to convert can face imprisonment, enslavement, or death depending upon the severity assigned to their offense.

Bureaucracy and Law

Toreon maintains a substantial bureaucratic system for regulating people who enter and live within the city proper.

The outer city can be entered without a pass, but anyone wishing to enter the city proper must register at a government-operated registration booth. Visitors are required to provide their reason for entering, the length of their intended stay, and other information before receiving a pass.

Registration can technically be completed at the city gates, but the guards prefer travelers to obtain their passes beforehand because the traffic entering Toreon is heavy.

The city also regulates weapons. Weapons brought into the city proper must be registered and peace-bonded. An unregistered weapon can result in a 50 gp fine, confiscation of the weapon, and possible arrest.

The bureaucracy also handles residency, property, merchants, and taxation. Recorded fees include:

Entry registration: 5 cp per week, 1 sp per month, or 1 gp per year
Application for residency: 10 gp
Merchant license: 5 sp per month
Weapon registration and peace-bonding: 1 sp per weapon
Taxes: 10% of earnings

Church loyalty can affect how these regulations are applied. Devout followers of Demmazon, or those who provide useful information concerning heretical activity, may have fees waived. Officials can also be influenced through diplomacy, favors, or bribery.

The system is therefore both extensive and imperfect. Toreon has a functioning bureaucracy, but its effectiveness depends heavily on the individual officials involved.

The City Guard

There are two visibly different types of guards operating within Toreon.

The first are the ordinary city guards. They patrol the streets and public areas, generally keeping a relatively bored watch over the population.

The second are the Church Enforcers, guards wearing the insignia and uniforms of the Church of Demmazon. They are treated very differently by the population. People give them a wide berth, and the Church Enforcers watch those around them with suspicion.

There are fewer Church Enforcers in the outer city, where the ordinary city guard predominates. In the inner city, however, Church Enforcers make up the majority of the guards.

This creates a visible distinction between ordinary civil authority and the Church's religious authority, even though both ultimately operate within the same government.

The Grand Library

The Grand Library is one of Toreon's most important institutions.

During the Age of Wonders, the library was second only to the library at Aegea. After Aegea was destroyed, its library and accumulated knowledge were lost, leaving Toreon's library as the undisputed center for collected knowledge in the surviving world.

The library occupies a large complex spanning several city blocks. It functions more like a university than a simple repository of books, with surrounding buildings contributing to the larger institution.

Its grounds are populated by intellectuals, students, scholars, and researchers. People can be found reading, discussing their work, or debating with one another throughout the complex.

Access is regulated. Researchers must register for a library pass, and private research rooms can be rented in addition to the basic registration.

The library's importance is one of the reasons Toreon remains a center of learning despite the destruction of so much of the civilization that preceded it.

Trade and Daily Life

Despite its oppressive government, Toreon is a living city rather than simply a seat of government.

The enormous population supports a broad commercial economy. Merchants operate throughout the outer city, and the party encountered numerous taverns, businesses, entertainers, beggars, and other ordinary elements of urban life.

The city also contains established competition among businesses. During their stay, Dugan Lifebrew and Bo Duke established themselves in the brewing and distilling trade and sold their products to local taverns. One notable establishment was the Black Horse, regarded as one of the better taverns in the city.

The sheer population of Toreon creates an urban environment very different from the smaller settlements encountered elsewhere in the campaign. Travelers arriving from the countryside encounter thousands of people, constant traffic, extensive bureaucracy, and a city whose population has expanded far beyond the limits of its ancient architecture.

Toreon and the Church of Demmazon

The Church dominates both the political and religious life of Toreon.

Its headquarters occupy the massive cathedral complex that dominates the inner city alongside the old palace. The cathedral also serves as Samos' residence and the effective center of government.

The Church maintains agents throughout the city and empire. Church officials and enforcers actively search for heretics and dissenters, while ordinary citizens are encouraged to report suspicious behavior.

The result is an atmosphere in which religious conformity is expected and political dissent can become a religious offense.

The Church's power is nevertheless not absolute. The Knights of Demmazon eventually broke away from Toreon and the Church during the later stages of the Under the Bus conflict and began conducting guerrilla operations against the forces of Cain and Filtiarn from within territory nominally controlled by Toreon.

Toreon During the Campaign

The party entered Toreon primarily because of the Grand Library. They were attempting to decipher a strange disk recovered from Deskin, whose writing appeared to be connected to Pythia the Mad Prophet and potentially to the plague that was transforming people into werewolves.

The party established a residence in the city and spent an extended period there researching the disk.

They also established businesses, dealt with the city's bureaucracy, and experienced Toreon's everyday life before becoming increasingly entangled in the city's political and religious conflicts.

The party eventually met Samos himself. He was aware of their activities and their association with The Chosen. He also knew about the werewolf plague in the south, although he was initially more concerned with the vampire problem within Toreon itself.

The city was subsequently drawn into the larger conflict surrounding The Aegisstaff. The party used the staff to cure much of the plague within Toreon, but Samos and the Church demanded possession of it.

The attempted alliance between Toreon and the party's elven allies ultimately failed. The Edict of Unification had become so deeply established among the city's population that Toreon's people were unwilling to accept the assistance of non-humans or followers of gods other than Demmazon. In Toreon-controlled settlements, elves encountered suspicion and hostility, sometimes escalating into violence.

After the party left the city with the Aegisstaff, Church bounty hunters pursued them in an effort to recover it.

Toreon's Place in the World

Toreon is the surviving remnant of the old human world.

Its enormous population, surviving Age of Wonders architecture, functioning bureaucracy, military presence, commercial economy, and unparalleled library make it the most significant surviving human city of the post-Fall world.

At the same time, Toreon's survival has not preserved the civilization that created it unchanged. The city is divided between an ancient core that still displays the grandeur of the Age of Wonders and a vast outer settlement created by thousands of years of upheaval and population growth.

Politically, Toreon has transformed from a surviving kingdom into the center of a Church-dominated empire. Its government claims authority over the human lands, while its actual influence varies considerably outside the territory it can directly control.

By the later stages of the Under the Bus campaign, the world had effectively divided into several spheres of control. Toreon and the Church dominated the north, while Cain controlled the west from the necropolis of Menasta, Filtiarn dominated the south, and the eastern lands were contested by the elves, Dark Elves, and the party.

Toreon therefore represents both the survival of the old world and the radically different civilization that emerged after the Fall.