bookholm: Darkman Street
The oldest surface-structures in the city reside here. The timber-framed houses pitch inwards steeply enough that the singular, outwardly-spiralling street of this district is near enough covered. Blackened old buildings drink what little light wends its way in, and street lamps burn continuously.
This is the historic quarter where Bookemism first took root. The many scorched ruins attest to the ferocity of the First Great Conflagration; supposedly caused by the Bookemist's greatest abomination, the Darkman, a monster of living paper invested with sacrificial blood and pure lightning. Flame was the only thing that ended its rampage, but not before much of the city was reduced to ash.
use any combination of the verbs, nouns, and adjectives below to rapidly sketch NPCs, items, locations, or situations.
| 1D6 | Adjective | Verb | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark | Archive | Substance |
| 2 | Ancient | Burn | Treasure |
| 3 | Abandoned | Spiral | Antiquarian |
| 4 | Occult | Silence | Bookemist |
| 5 | Grand | Analyse | Vault |
| 6 | Secret | Transmute | Legend |
Leyden Manikin
Among Zamonian scientists, Leyden Manikins are a favourite means of testing the effects of chemicals and mendicaments without having to experiment on living life forms. A Leyden Manikin consists largely of pear from the Graveyard Marshes of Dullsgard with an admixture of Demerara Desert sand, adipose tissue, glycerine, and liquid resin. These components are moulded into a manikin and animated with the aid of an alchemical battery. If inserted in a glass receptacle and immersed in nutrient fluid, a Leyden Manikin will keep for about a month. It displays all the behavioural characteristics of a live creature, reacting to heat, cold, and all manner of chemical compounds.
- Optimus Yarnspinner, City of Dreaming Books, p. 101.
Inazia Anazazi
| Skill | Stamina | Initiative | Armour | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 12 | 2 | 0 | As Unarmed |
special: knows befuddle and cockroach. An Ugglian collector and vendor of curses, prophecies, spells, and recipes for potions. Her horrifying visage belies a genuine wish to do good, only somewhat hindered by an indwelling timidness that she hides with a grouchy attitude.
Pfistomel Smyke
| Skill | Stamina | Initiative | Armour | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 20 | 3 | 0 | As Unarmed x7 |
This affluent Shark Grub inhabits an unassuming ex-Bookemistic laboratory at the geographical epicentre of Bookholm: 333 Darkman Street, where he specialises in analysing manuscripts and typography. For money, he deals in only the most costly and rare of tomes; those on the Golden List. He keeps his entire stock in a single crate in the corner of his lab. Most prized of his possessions is the spine-chilling Bloody Book.
Pfistomel will offer his literary and typographical expertise to the party for free; after all, he can afford to, and why wouldn't he help?
The truth? His home sits on top of a ginormous subterranean vault filled with thousands of priceless tomes. He expertly titrates their flow into the antiquarian market, whereby he has amassed an impossible fortune with which he subtly controls Bookholm in its entirety through myriad proxies and criminal enterprises. His final ambition is truly megalomaniacal: Rulership of all Zamonia, at which point he will abolish all art (which he hates).
Smyke will manipulate the party, if he can, into finding him rare books, mapping far flung areas of the Catacombs, and of course, destroying his competitors utterly. If they become a threat to Smyke's machinations, they will be ruthlessly terminated luke countless other unfortunates who came to Bookholm seeking wealth and glory.