Saltmash,
Or
Where Helsport Came From
Or
Where Helsport Came From
Well, the campaign had been going on for almost a year before he came back i nto the scene as a prominent player. So that you know, the first Ranken Issligi war had been going on in campaign time for almost five years, and Miskovar, played by the incomparable Sean M, was the last surviving character at that point. That point happened to be the town of Saltmash, and it was surrounded by a considerable contingent of Rankens who wished to do nothing less than capture the town and exterminate the citizens.
Why was Saltmarsh important?
It was the siteof a natural well of naptha, and massive saltpeter deposits. It was also the sole site for the manufacture of Greekfire, a weapon which was enabling the numerically weaker Issligi to combat theRankens. Miskovar was at this point a character of some importance and had some influence among the command ofthe garrison and when the battle came he was oneof the few left stan ding. It is here that the origins begin. Remember that the citizens of Saltmarsh had endured five years of hardship, and also that they were little more than slaves to their lord. That lord was now slain however and Miskovar offered them something no other person could, freedom.He offered benediction of the goddess Hel and guidance to a free land. A surprising number of people took up this offer and fled northward to the current location of Helsport. The first two years of settlement revolved around Miskovar thwarting Issligi and Ranken attacks, exterminating Orcs and building the massive citywalls.What Miskovar offered was citizenship and property ownership and this eventually became a persuasive rumor on the northern half of the continent. In the fourth yearofHelsport a turning point was reached, the gnomes came.
The Gnomes and The Boomtown
The gnome traders are one of the true secrets of the success of the city.While the average citizen was and still is completely unaware as to the importance of the Gnomes. The city had one very valuable commodity and it was able to trade it for everything that was needed to build a great city. What the city needed most however was citizens and Miskovar began to offer bounties and send out citizen missionaries.The result was an ever increasing flow of people and also the spreading of Helsport's name and location. Soon other traders besides the Gnomes began to appear and every form of enterprise began. Helsport established a navy and a marine. Began to build its ownships and even developed its own nobility. In short, people began to envy and admire the granite walled city which would eventually lead to the time period represented by the second campaign.
The city was fully developed by the time the Lathanderites came. With their appearance many things began to breakdown or change in ways contrary to the continued survival of the city. The Lathanderites chief destructive act was the religious conversions of many important people and also the activities of their familiars.Many functions of the city were messed up beyond all belief. Perhaps the worst part was that they allowed the entrance of an entire Ranken Horde into the city. This Horde was actually part of the seventh Ranken Might which was preparing to lay siege to the city. In addition the Issligis were also sending the entire army of the House of Hess to silence the independent city of Helsport. Through gross and ineffectual choices the Lathanderites caused a gate to one of the Elemental Planes of Fire and created a disaster of unimaginable proportions. When the smoke cleared Helsport was barely inhabited, highly damaged, and a shadow of itself.
Did Someone Say Armageddon?
So in the 15thyear of Helsport there was a marked decline to be light about the truth. From a population of close to 100,000 enrolled citizens, it now had fewer than 15,000. From having a very powerful army, to having one that could only patrol the city walls with orc conscripts. Most of the nobility had perished, as had much of the governmental beauracracy. Money was very scarce as was many diverse types of supplies. As for Religion,the area that used to be the Religious District is now a level plain covered with volcanic magma flows. The Arena became the world's largest exposed outcropping of obsidian. But there are a few bright spots. The Naval district was miraculously untouched and as such the four warships remain serviceable as is the personnel needed to keep them going. Also most of the Helsport flagged merchant ships have survived, but the crews most likely perished during the plague that ran rampant through the city immediately following the Destruction. Another dubious advantage to being so damaged is the fact that since that event, both Ranke and Issligi have ignored the existence of the city, meaning no military attacks for the past few years. Please see the following page to read the Lathanderites version, or the players view of what really happened.
The Present, Or The Third Iteration Of Helsport
What you need to know about Helsport now. Firstly ethnic tensions abound. There are very few native Helsport citizens, and those who were born here are very young teenaged people. There is no common sense of history. Most people still have an ethnic identity that is stronger than their identity with the city itself. This means Issligis tend to keep to the Issligi, Ranken to Ranken. As an outsider newly immigrated to the city you are immediately distrusted by everyone. Trade is highly limited. Most of the commercer evolves around the mining of obsidian from the Arena. There seems to be a new island kingdom which considers obsidian to be a valuable religious commodity making their long voyage to and from Helsport worthwhile. Then there are the Lothanderites and their whacked religion that does not officially exist in the city but seems to abound everywhere.The Naval command of the city results from it being the single most cohesive formal power structure.Things are getting back to normal, so the naval military government of the city is beginning to wane. The city seems to be run by a secular power right now centered on the High Sage who has attempted to create a government based on philosophical grounds instead of powerful individuals. Currently there is no city council in office right now but there is talk of re-electing the council. The beauracracy has begun to put out its various stacks of forms and licensees, but because the guilds are non-existent, theofficial government can be mostly ignored. Patrolling and policing of the city is accomplished by ad hoc groups of former members of the Helsport army and citizens of quality. If you are looking for a job, you simply have to get the appropriate forms and licensees, and find a place to set up shop for your services. Note though, you must be a citizen of Helsport,or you run the risk of forfeiting all your profits to the government. If you have coinage, be careful how you use it. Hard currency has been seized by the government. In its place has been issued paper currency secured by the church of Hel. It seems that the hard coinage is being used to buy and bribe traders and goods in order to rebuild the city. You will be tempted to journey to theTrader's district and seize an abandoned warehouse, but be careful.While the city records of ownership are disorganized now, they will not always be so,so there is a risk that you could develop a thriving enterprise, only to have it granted back to the rightful heirs by the city in the future. As long as you have your blue citizenship papers, you should be largely unmolested.