Darranis Kaer opened up in the year 1419 TH and immediately started to rebuild the town. A wall wasn’t previously part of the town, but as threat was uncertain at this time it was deemed that having a wall with strong gates would be a priority.
The town has become prosperous over the last 30 years and has grown to twice the size it used to be prior to the scourge. The estimated total population is in the region of 2000. With another 300 to 500 people travelling through at any one time.
The Coil River is one of most prosperous stretches of the entire Serpent River system. From its source in the Throal Mountains to the Aras Sea, the Coil runs as swiftly and strongly as the Serpent and is home to more people than the rest of Barsaive’s mightiest waterway.
North of the intimidating Adipae Rapids lies the town of Darranis, which has become a vital link between Throal and the Serpent River system since the end of the Theran War. Only riverboats with express permission by King Neden of Throal have the rights to traverse the underground rivers to reach the dwarf kingdom to the North; most other trade runs through Darranis and continues to Throal’s mighty gates by caravan on the dwarf caravan road, while some continues on to Ardanyan to be shipped to Throal from there.
The southern part of the Coil River, which runs from Lake Ban to the Aras Sea is also known as the Silver Spring, partly because of the high volume of lucrative trade with the seaport city Urupa. The southern part of the river also passes the so-called Swinging City of Axalalail, built entirely on platforms suspended in a grove of massive trees growing close to the river. The town’s Ts’krang residents, who built Axalalail with the aid of a Windling clan, use rope swings to move from platform to platform.
Darranis Today, the rapids at Adipae are so well mapped that few riverboat captains fear them. Upstream of the rapids, the river is wide open for another 250 miles, with no appreciable hazard before it reaches the town of Darranis. At Darranis, a major caravan route winds down from the highlands out of Bartertown. In the years since the Theran War, the Darranis road has become a vital link between Throal and the Serpent River system, and the town has grown explosively.
Many Namegivers come to Darranis in search of work that merchant houses and independent caravan owners have to offer— mainly for transporting goods from Darranis north to Throal and vice versa. The steady demand for workers feeds many people, but forces many to spend most of their time on the road, leaving their women with the burden of raising their families. Payment is low because many people are able and willing to join a caravan, what makes for poor living conditions for the families left behind. On the other hand, specialized crafter’s and the owners of the many taverns and stores have a higher income and live in much better conditions than most of Darranis’ inhabitants.
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Elorian Quickwit: Male Ork
RESPONSIBILITIES: Trade, Road Maintenance
TRAITS: Smart, Witty, Gambler
Alri Yolotta: Female Human Warrior
RESPONSIBILITIES: Militia
TRAITS: Lawful, Relentless, Tough
Yeldur: Male Elven Non-Adept Scholar
RESPONSIBILITIES: Taxes and Fees
TRAITS: Orator, Charismatic, Organized
Drokam: Male Human Wizard
RESPONSIBILITIES: Administration
TRAITS: Egoistic, Brooding, Frail
Celora Springflower: Female Elven Troubadour
RESPONSIBILITIES: Food and Water Supply
TRAITS: Famous, Negotiator, Good-looking
AIRSHIP TOWER
The infrequently arriving airships land on the ground at the caravan area, too, often causing traffic jams, but the construction of an airship docking tower and its support structures (like elemental elevators) is expensive. These facilities, however, are in the early stages of construction—one of the main reasons for the recently debated increase in docking fees. The high cost of construction causes the work on the airship dock to proceed slowly, but the money raised goes towards providing a better infrastructure within the next few years and pays for the safety Darranis provides.
ON THE BREWERIES
Selkor Drolkhma, owner of the largest brewery and an Elementalist himself, soon realized that this wasn’t enough. He began to experiment with adding different flavors, until he finally created the brew that quickly grew to be a trademark of Darranis. His competitors followed suit, and a handful of enterprising locals founded their own breweries to get in on the profits. Word got out, and before long Darranis’ and Alrran’s beers sold for high prices across Barsaive.
Today, Darranis has no fewer than sixteen breweries and the supporting industry. The town is famous across Barsaive and is the greatest competitor to Throal’s own breweries.
The competition between Throal’s and Darranis’ breweries is fierce, but that’s nothing compared to the vicious fights Darranis’ breweries wage with each other. The Drolkhma family doesn’t give an inch to the other families and brewers in the market, even though the demand for good beer is large enough to support all of them easily.
—Chasli Thunderhead
Brewing is a tradition that cannot be readily learned without steady practice. Some speculate the Darranis brewers made ales in secret during the Scourge, or claim to have re-invented brewing after the Scourge just to build their legend. Some say they snuck into Throal’s breweries and spied on their rivals, stealing the knowledge. Still others say their old equipment is actually enchanted, producing the beer on its own if only the ingredients are thrown in. Whatever the truth, go taste it. It’s good. But it somehow doesn’t taste right.
—Klordek the Barrel, Throal brewer
ON THE PASSIONS
There are three shrines to the Passions in Darris. These are Chorrolis, Garlen and Floranuss
Chorrolis Shrine
It’s no surprise that the shrine dedicated to Chorrolis is the biggest one in Darranis. Many successful merchants and shipping agents pray to the Passion and dedicate a portion of their income to him. Chorrolis’ Questors are involved in the politics of Darranis to great extent and usually support the merchants and shipping agents in debates with their workers.
Garlens’ Shrine
The most recently erected shine is directly outside the Restorers Rest and was installed by the Questors Of Garlen who resided there, with money collected via donations. Their services are mostly used by the poor and the sick of Darranis. They don’t officially charge any fees for their help, but do ask people to make donations for what they can afford. They do charge for Healing Potions, Last Chance Salves and Garlen stones and other healing items that they sell, and will ask for an extra 10% as a donation.
As per Player’s Guide PG 437
Floranuss’ Shrine
Darranis’ shrine dedicated to Floranuus sees large donations by merchants and shipping agents who want to show their gratitude. The questors of the shrine are well known in the town, as they often motivate workers and grant them the gift of Floranuus, boosting their stamina for an arduous task.
ON ENTERTAINMENT
Apart for the numerous Inns in Darranis, there are also a two gambling facilities, a theater and a touring company in Darranis.
Bes’ara’s
Bes’ara runs a high-class establishment that caters to the wealthy. In the luxury atmosphere of Bes’ara’s mansion, men and women alike can find entertainment and the company of good-looking and educated Namegivers, for a high price, of course. Naturally, a place like this is the subject of many rumors, which claim that Bes’ara is working for the Therans, Throal, the Dragons, or the Denairastas.
Dyntan’s Gambling Hall
The ruthless, yet charming, elf Dyntan owns the largest gambling hall in Darranis, which is mostly frequented by traveling merchants and caravan workers. Dyntan keeps a close eye on the tables and deals quickly and fiercely with anyone found cheating. He also runs a profitable business of loan sharking, which is overseen by his right hand: Oughum, a cunning ork woman. Some of the most feared and brutal thugs in Darranis work for Dyntan as bouncers in the gambling hall and leg breakers for the loan sharking ring.
Theater of the Moon
Najarja Starshine owns this small theater, where famous plays from Throalic writers are played by a professional group of actors. She doesn’t make much money from the enterprise, but she doesn’t have to. She struck it rich a decade ago as part of an adventuring group. Najarja doesn’t speak much about her past, but has a soft spot for young, adventurous adepts, especially magicians, she is a Wizard herself.
Care For The Kaer Touring Company
This company takes daily tours to the Kear which is fifteen miles southwest. They tell wildly exaggerated colourful tales about the town’s time hauled up inside the Kaer. Within the Kear older adepts also reside and have taken up permanent residence there and for coin will glady train any aspiring young adepts.
DISCLAIMER: Some descriptions, character names, and place names have been taken from the source book: Darranis – An Adventure Pack for Earthdawn: The Age of Legend Please see Legal
