Karnstown Settlement in The World of Cartyrion | World Anvil

Karnstown

Headed to Karnstown, are ya? Gonna make yer fortune there, are ya? Well... good luck to ya. Nice enough town, it is, but unless yer name is Karn, yer chances of makin' a fortune -- and gettin' ta keep it -- are as good as growin' apples from a plum tree.
— Spudbarrow farmer talking to traveler headed to Karnstown
K
arnstown one of the most remote settlements in the Feywood; despite that it is one of the larger ones. Jasric Karn was one of the first humans to explore the Feywood over 150 years ago; over a period of ten years, he traveled the length and breadth of the forest. According to the tales, when he finally tired of exploring, he chose a place to settle down.

That place, located on the north shore of a lake at least as large as Feywood Lake became the site of Karnstown. The band of adventurers he had explored with all settled there. Stories made their way back to the more civilized north that Karn had discovered the site of some sort of immeasurable wealth - one tale told of a huge gold deposit, another of an abandoned dragon horde. But regardless of the details, the results were that people began to flock south, looking for Karn’s settlement and hoping to get a piece of the riches for themselves.

Geography

The city itself is built upon a hill that rises steadily up from the north shore of the lake, just east of where the ?? river feeds the lake. That hill ends abruptly with an escarpment at its northern edge. Originally, that escarpment marked the northern edge of the settlement; it was considered to be part of the "defensive wall" that was built by ?? Karn to reinforce the image that Karnstown was a notable city and not just a far-off village in the wilderness.

Karnstown

Population
5158
Demographics
Human: 2579 (50%)
Half-elf: 413 (8%)
Half-orc: 103 (2%)
Halfling: 825 (16%)
Dwarf: 206 (4%)
Elf: 619 (12%)
Goblin: 206 (4%)
Gnome: 206 (4%)

City Layout

On the uppermost reaches of the hill, the estates of the Karnstown wealthy will be found. Almost all owned by either descendents of Jasric Karn, or relatives by marriage. The town's main square is located halfway up the hill, and marks the settlement'c approximate center. The square is framed by City Hall, the headquarters of the Karnstown Mining Cooperative, and the temples of the True Church of the Humanar, and the Enlightened Church of the Humanar.

Despite being on the shores of a huge freshwater lake, most of the residents of the city rely on wells for their water supply. This is because the lake near the town is tainted by runoff from the pewter works which are located along the river just before it empties into the lake. The wealthier homes at the top of the hill have private wells, but for most of the Karnstowners, water is obtained from one of the five municipal wells located around the city. Each of these wells is named for the patriarch or matriarch of the Karn family that was in power when the well was opened. The oldest of these, Jasric's Well, is easternmost and nearest to the lake - and is barely used since the water in this well has begun to take on the pewter taint of the lake.

There is little rhyme or reason to the layout of streets in the city; with the exception of the long street parallel to the escarpment and leads to Karn Manor and the other wealthy estates. The rest of the city is haphazardly laid out, with alleys and streets intersecting at odd angles. The intersections where the five wells can be found have, over time, become the locations of small open-air markets, which the townsfolk refer to as bazaars with the same names as the wells.
The City of Karnstown
 

Goods, Services, and Attractions

Being the largest settlement in the Feywood, Karnstown is also offers the widest variety of the sorts of goods and services an adventurer would be interested in. ?? the armorer and ?? the weaponsmith are trained in the use of magical runes which can add magical effects to gear. The apothecary, ??, has a variety of potions and elixirs afSeveral sages, knowledgeable in the magical arts can also be found. These are willing to answer questions for the right price.

  Things that need names: 3 city gates   Shops that need identifying: smithies (armor, weapons, skill to work with magical runes) alchemy/pharmacy general goods clothing stores?

Government

Karnstown, like every other settlement in the Feywood, elects a Mayor and other civic leaders. But elections in Karnstown are... unique. It is extremely rare for there to be more than one candidate for any position, and that candidate is always hand-picked by the current patriarch of the Karn Family. In the rare past circumstances when a rival opponent announces interest in a position, "accidents" have befallen the upstarts prior to the election. As a result, the true power behind the governing of the city is - and always was - the Karn Family. They maintain firm rulership over the city and its near environs in the same manner that any feudal lord would.

Defences

Being deep in the Feywood, there is very little need for extensive city defenses. Nonetheless, the Karn Family has erected two city walls which, along with the ?? river in the west, Karn Lake to the south, and the cliff-faced wall of "the hill" in the north, form a ring around the city. It is said that ?? Karn didn't like the fact that his city was ridiculed for calling itself a city when its population was so low. Since the great cities in the north, and in the First Kingdom, all had walls, he ordered the Karnstown walls built.

If it's got walls, it's a city.
— ?? Karn
  ?? Gate and the North Wall ?? Gate and the East Wall ?? Gate and the ?? Rive

Industry & Trade

The principal industry of the city is the production of pewter goods. The metal is smelted and alloyed from ores that are delivered to the city from the nearby mining hamlets of Stannilode and Ferrilode. It should come as no surprise that the Karn family owns the smeltery, and controls most of the trade in fininshed pewter goods.

Infrastructure

The most notable infrastructre aspects of the town are the three city gates, two walls, the docks, and the community wells.

Guilds and Factions

The Karn Family Karnstown Mining Cooperative


Cover image: The Inn from the Bridge over Daphinia's Stream by RPGDinosaurBob (with Flowscape)

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