Go to Table of Contents

Iristul Vladaam is not currently located in Ptolus, and is not further detailed here. Each Vladaam heir, however, is detailed with:

• A universal roleplaying template, as detailed here, for easy use.
• Connections to other factions, scenarios, or major players in Ptolus.
• Responsibilities, which summarize which aspects of the Vladaam deot they oversee.
• A schedule of their activities, as detailed below.

Along with any additional details that are relevant.

FAMILY SCHEDULES

Schedule information is given below for each family member. If a specific investigation is made into the schedule of a specific heir, a Charisma (Investigation) check (DC 15) turns up one piece of information plus one additional piece of information for every 4 margin of success.

Use the following table to determine what sort of scheduling information is gained:

Note that the same random table is used for both recent activity and upcoming planned activity. Some of these activities may be one-time events; others might be something that happens semi-regularly. (Use your best judgment to determine whether or not to repeat certain events.)

ALIASTER VLADAAM

APPEARANCE: Bushy sideburns down to his jowls. A man in his fifties. Six fingers on each hand (and six toes on each foot).

• GM Note: His eyes are completely black. (But he wears magical lenses to make them appear normal.)

ROLEPLAYING:

• Lacks ambition and drive, but makes up for it with a thirsting desire for knowledge.
• Extreme cowardice.
• Jut the head forward and down; the eyes looking slightly up at anyone standing across from him.
• Traces figures in his left palm with his right index finger.

BACKGROUND: Aliastar is on friendly terms with Navanna and has no interest in vying with her for control of the house. He manages only those concerns within the deot that he finds personal interesting (primarily matters of magic or alchemy or, lately, chaositech).

Aliaster helps his half-sister with her schemes by casting spells on her or for her in the simple hope that she will leave him alone and not actually force him into a dangerous situation.

STATS: Ptolus, p. 101

CONNECTIONS

Aliaster is part of the thoughtstone network. (Ptolus, p. 158)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Aliaster handles anything magical or alchemical in the family’s portfolio. This includes:

• Alchemical Labs (Part 7)
• Red Company of Fletchers (Guild – Dreadwood Grove)
• Red Company of Founders (Guild – Founders’ Workshop)
• Oldtown Apartments (Part 15)
• Red Company of Magi (Part 13)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity: Visits Haven’s Haven every Fireday to shave and trim his beard.

Aliaster’s Arcane Sigil

GATTARA VLADAAM

 APPEARANCE: A round face and shoulder-length, dark brown hair with reddish tints. She wears scandalously revealing garments and large, glittering jewelry much of the time.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Hopelessly mad, given to fits of irrational rage without notice.
• A high-pitched, tittering laugh.
• A raw, desperate flirtation that craves a mixture of acceptance and adoration. (Can easily flip into a cruel sadism.)

BACKGROUND: Once thought a promising wizard, she gave up her studies to serve as a priestess to the Galchutt. She maintains a fancy of opening a temple to the Galchutt in the Temple District (perhaps even using the Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother, see Part 6), but there is nothing concrete to any of it.

She has some contact with the chaos cults, but no direct contact with Wuntad. (He was initially intrigued, but he considers her madness and her irrational fervor too much of a liability.) Gattara has convinced Navanna to provide supplies to the chaos cults through various parts of the Vladaam deots.

Despite her madness (or perhaps because of it), she serves as something of the “family sage.”

STATS: Ptolus, p. 608

CONNECTIONS

BALACAZARS: Gattara has been good friends with Malkeen Balacazar (Ptolus, p. 103) since childhood. Rumors of them being lovers are false, but Malkeen will regularly consult with her regarding sorcerous matters – particularly those of the macabre or sadistic bent that he knows she will enjoy.

MARCUS CORELLIUS: Gattara has a good (and periodically intimate) relationship with Den Master Marcus Corellius (Part 8: Curse Dens). Although Godfred is technically in charge of the curse dens, Gattara liaised with Corellius regularly regarding the slave trade cover operations (Part 16).

THOUGHTSTONES: Gattara is part of the thoughtstone network (Ptolus, pg. 167)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Gattara likes slaves. She really, really likes them. Navanna generally leaves her to it, although she makes a point of regularly checking the books.

• Part 16: Slave Trade

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity:

• Danbury’s (Ptolus, p. 192): Socializing at this tavern for wizards and sorcerers three nights out of four.
• Jade Woman (Ptolus, p. 277): Visits roughly once a week to shop for a new set of garish outfits.

GODFRED VLADAAM

APPEARANCE: Tall, dark-haired, and pale, with extremely broad shoulders. Thick hair and bushy eyebrows. A long scar down one side of his often unshaven face.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Slow witted and rash. A lumbering oaf.
• Haughty, with an immense sense of entitlement.
• Looks down his nose (literally) at anyone he deems to be a lesser being… which is virtually everyone.

BACKGROUND: Youngest of the heirs and Iristul’s favored, but Iristul is smart enough to know that the boy isn’t capable of being in charge.

Godfred is a master of the greatsword and wields the only hungersword Iristul has yet found.

STATS: Ptolus, p. 102

CONNECTIONS

None of note.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Navanna has handed over responsibility for the drug-running activities of the Vladaam deot to Godfred and, with them, the family’s shipping concerns. This is ideal because these aspects of the deot largely run themselves (either through the Fleet of Iron captains or the Red Company of Surveyors), and she also figures that if these activities were to ever blow up, she could lay the whole thing on Godfred and call it a day.

• Curse Dens (Part 8)
• Fleet of Iron Sails (Part 9)
• Red Company of Surveyors (Part 14)
• Vladaam Drug Running (Part 18)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity: Godfred’s entire schedule is relatively predictable. The White House, Lady Cardie’s, and the Waterfall are all basically daily activities for him. The Arena is only irregular because it largely depends on when his fighter is scheduled.

NAVANNA VLADAAM

APPEARANCE (GLAMERED): A black dress with burnished armlets which send patterns of magical shadow writhing up her arms. A large glittering ruby in a simple fixture of taurum has been affixed directly to her breastbone. All of this stands out starkly and sharply against her dusky skin.

• GM Note: The ruby functions as a hat of disguise.

APPEARANCE (ACTUAL): Short-haired, pointy-chinned, extremely fit and thin. Her hair is dark brown and her skin is extraordinarily black – almost blue. Her teeth are bright yellow and she has four tiny red horns on her forehead right at the hairline.

ROLEPLAYING:

• Polite, charming, and perfectly willing to stick a dagger into your back at the first opportunity if there’s any profit in it.
• Coolly asexual, although she can drape other personalities (from femme fatale to gregarious bard) onto her false identities.
• If driven to true fury, she hisses like a cat. (She has not hissed in years.)

BACKGROUND: While Iristul is away, Navanna runs House Vladaam. Like her siblings, she is wicked and cruel – but she is also extremely devious and painstakingly cautious. She is not the most powerful of the family, nor the eldest, but she is the best leader.

KEY INFO: Navanna is constantly accompanied by at least four of the Twelve Claws (her personal werewolf bodyguards; see Part 5: The Vladaam Estate).

STATS: Ptolus, p. 101

CONNECTIONS

• Renn Sadar (Ptolus, p. 98)
• Commissar Igor Urnst (Ptolus, p. 140)
• City Council (Ptolus, p. 140)
• Menon Balacazar (Ptolus, p. 103)

RESPONSIBILITIES

Navanna officially runs the deot of House Vladaam while Prince Iristul is away. Although certain aspects of the deot are handed off to her siblings for daily operations, she still oversees everything.

• Abandoned Temple of the Mother (Part 6)
• Ithildin Couriers (Part 1)
• Red Companies (Part 1)
• Undead Shipping Warehouse (Part 17)
• Vladaam Family Estate (Part 5)

SCHEDULE

Regular Activity:

• Visits the Winsome Gallery (Ptolus, pg. 277) every week on Airday to see the latest arrivals and occasionally purchase pieces she fancies.
• Meeting of City Council. (1 in 6 chance of meeting each day. She has, however, been leaving a larger number of votes in the Trade Circle to the family’s proxies.)

NAVANNA’S FALSE IDENTITIES

Navanna maintains a number of false identities in the city. She is constantly discarding old identities and creating new ones as opportunities and needs arise.

Navanna will use her ruby of disguise and then simply teleport out of the Vladaam House Estate. Some of her identities maintain rooms at the Soaring Idyll across the street (so she simply teleports there). She also rents a room in Oldtown almost directly below the House Estate and she can teleport there.

ELLA FENRIS: A swarthy-skinned half-orc. Master Delver of the Delver’s Guild (Ptolus, p. 108). Rarely goes on actual delves, but uses guild contacts to find out the latest discoveries beneath Ptolus.

IDORU: As Idoru, Navanna works as a freelance representative of the Eight Shadows (Ptolus, pg. 377). In that role, she either approaches (or is approached by) would-be clients of the Eight Shadows (either for vile fantasies at their brothel or, more likely, their job as drug dealers, assassins, spies, and enforcers). The Eight Shadows are part of the Balacazar criminal cartel, but neither they nor the Balacazars know that Idoru is secretly Navanna.

NICALON REGELIS: A new member of the Knights of the Golden Cross (Ptolus, p. 120). Spread story of being recently imprisoned by the Vladaams and would speak out strongly against the House in order to find out what her enemies have to say. She sacrificed this identity (blowing months of work) in order to identify the Hand of the Banelord and steal it from the PCs. See Banewarrens, p. 42.

OALA: A hostess at the Onyx Spider (Ptolus, p. 203). The owner of the Spider knows that Oala is an agent of House Vladaam, but doesn’t realize she’s actually Navanna in disguise. Navanna finds it useful to be able to move freely through the crowds here, eavesdropping wherever it seems wise.

Go to Part 3: Clue List

Whether you’re talking about Jaroo Ashtaff, the Level 7 Druid, from AD&D, a Goblin Wizard 14 from 3^rd Edition, or a 5^th Edition Archmage, the trickiest bit of creating an NPC spellcaster is filling in their spell list.

For example, let’s take a closer look at the 5E Archmage’s spellcasting capability:

Cantrips (5, at will):

1^st Level (4 slots):

2^nd Level (3 slots):

3^rd Level (3 slots):

4^th Level (3 slots):

5^th Level (3 slots):

6^th Level (1 slot):

7^th Level (1 slot):

8^th Level (1 slot):

9^th Level (1 slot):

Now, obviously, in this case we can actually use the default spells provided in the Archmage stat block. But wouldn’t it get a little boring — in a game teeming with hundreds or thousands of amazing spell options — for every Archmage to cast the exact same set of spells?

And so here we are, picking out twenty-five spells one by one.

It’s laborious.

And particularly daunting if you’re creating a spellcaster on the fly in the middle of a session: The PCs zigged in an unexpected direction or zagged by unexpectedly picking a fight. Quick! Pick a dozen (or two dozen!) spells in the time it takes the players to roll initiative!

THE BLANK TEMPLATE

If you take a second peek at the blank Archmage template above, you’ll see the technique I use when this situation comes up at the table.

(Which, of course, it inevitably does.)

Rather than listing the spellcaster’s spells, I just list their daily capacity.

Then I’ll grab a copy of the Player’s Handbook (or its local equivalent; similar techniques work in a wide variety of games) and flip it open to the appropriate spell list.

When it comes time for the NPC spellcaster to cast a spell, I’ll simply choose whatever spell feels appropriate and add it to the previously blank template. Over time, the template fills in.

The drawback to this technique is that it requires a bit more system mastery, since you’ve just multiplied their spell selection each round from a list with a handful spells on it to literally every spell in the book. But it’s not like you need to actually memorize every spell in the book: with just a little familiarity, you can rely on the spells you’re familiar with, grab anything else that looks particularly cool or appropriate as the need arises, and slowly expand your repertoire.

Plus your Player’s Handbook is already flipped open to the right page, so thumbing over to the description of a spell you’re not completely familiar with should be fairly easy.

CONSTRAINING CHOICE

Another effect of this technique, obviously, is that if you play it for maximum mechanical advantage your spellcasters are significantly more powerful than they were before! After all, “they” get to pick any spell they want at the very moment they need it! That’s not fair!

First, good sir or ma’am: ARE YOU A GAME MASTER OR AREN’T YOU?

Just… don’t do that. Ask yourself, “Does it make sense for them to have this spell?” And, if it doesn’t, don’t use it. If you don’t think you can answer that question truthfully, then flip a coin or roll a die when in doubt.

If you want a different form of constraint, consider defining a spell “theme” for the NPC caster: Maybe they’re a fire mage or a defense specialist or a summoner. Limit their spell selections to this theme: In addition to making the encounter more flavorful, it will place a reasonable limit on you unlimited spell selection and maybe even push you out of your comfort zone, encouraging you to experiment with new spells you haven’t gotten comfortable with yet.

Another constraint might be eliminating 25% or even 50% of their spell slots. For example, we might take our Archmage template and do this:

Cantrips (5, at will):

1^st Level (4 slots): X

2^nd Level (3 slots): X X

3^rd Level (3 slots): X

4^th Level (3 slots): X X

5^th Level (3 slots): X

6^th Level (1 slot):

7^th Level (1 slot): X

8^th Level (1 slot):

9^th Level (1 slot): X

With each X representing a spell they’ve already used today or, alternatively, a spell they’ve prepared that isn’t relevant to the current encounter (depending on edition and spellcasting class). This limited capacity counteracts, to at least some extent, the greater flexibility of their spell selection. Plus, it probably just makes sense more often than not: The NPC was probably just going about their day, casting their spells the way they normally do. It’s actually pretty unrealistic when every NPC spellcaster shows up with their full daily allotment of casting ready to drop on a single encounter.

SAVE YOUR SPELL LISTS

Whether you’re prepping spell lists in your adventure notes or jotting them down desperately in the middle of the session, save the list. Give it a label like “Fire Mage” or “Death By Lightning.” Copy it into a repository or drop it into a file folder.

Over time you’ll build up a valuable trove of spell lists. Eventually, you won’t be left scrambling when the players zig-zag: You’ll be able to grab the most appropriate list, give it a couple of twists, and run with it.

DISCUSSING
In the Shadow of the Spire – Session 31C: The Obstinate Prisoner

“It’s been two days since I had a drink,” the orc said. “Are you planning to kill me?”

“What are you talking about?” Tee said. “I just poured water over you head.”

“Maybe if we tried a nicer approach?” Ranthir said. “Tell us what we want to know and we’ll give you some food.”

“You tore off my ear and killed my friends and you think I’m going to talk for a little bit of food?”

They shut the closet door and withdrew a little.

A bad habit for a GM is to just keep constantly re-making the same check until the outcome swaps. That might be calling for Stealth check after Stealth check until the PCs finally fail a check and the whole compound goes on high alert. Or it might be letting the PCs make Interrogation after Interrogation check until they finally get a success and crack their target.

That’s obviously not how I handled the interrogation in this session. (The orc prisoner remains uncracked.) Instead, I’m using a Let It Ride technique. In its most basic form this boils down to treating the initial check to resolve a situation as a binding result. For example, you can’t just keep making Pick Locks checks until you pick the lock: Your initial check determines whether or not this is a lock that you can pick at this time. (For a detailed example of what this can look like in practice, check out Letting It Ride on the Death Star.)

In this case, the binding check actually took place in the previous session when the PCs first attempted to interrogate their prisoner. I did allow a couple of different checks before “locking” things in, basically modeling your typical good cop/bad cop situation. (These were, in my opinion, sufficiently different approaches that different checks were merited. Similar to how you could still try to kick down the door even if your Pick Locks check failed.)

Players, of course, will continue to push for more checks if they’re trying to escape a failure. That’s good! The key thing, though, is that you want them to be creative. Not just, “I do it again.” (“I pick the lock again.” “I threaten the orc again.”) But creating some new way of thinking about or approaching or solving or overcoming the obstacle. As the GM, you want to hold the line – particularly in muddy social situations – because it will push play forward in interesting ways.

The last thing to note about letting it ride in a social scene, like this interrogation, is that you can – and almost certainly should! – play through the scene. The check determines outcome, but it’s still worthwhile to roleplay through the actual interaction. (And, through that interaction, the players may end up identifying the alternative approach that will allow them to forge a new path.)

With that being said, don’t let the players’ desire to escape failure allow the scene to drag out. If a social scene starts to spin its wheels, you need to wrap it up:

• Is there anything else you want to say here?
• It doesn’t look like she’s going to budge. What do you want to do next?
• You keep at her for another thirty minutes, but she refuses to crack. Now what?

Or, frankly, just cut to the next scene.

Campaign Journal: Session 31D – Running the Campaign: Roleplaying NPC Scenes
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31C: THE OBSTINATE PRISONER

November 9th, 2008
The 17th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

“Couldn’t we take one of these corpses and use it to intimidate that orc we’ve got locked in a closet?” Elestra asked.

“Haven’t we basically already done that?” Tee pointed out, leaving unvoiced her concern about the bloodthirstiness beginning to appear in the young girl.

“I’ve even torn off her ear,” Agnarr said.

They left the bodies, but they did return to the mansion.

They found the orc woman sleeping in the closet. Tee poured water over her head and they tried to question her again… but it went no better than the last two times they had tried.

The orc woman laughed at Elestra’s efforts. “You’re wearing pink leather boots. I can barely take you seriously.”

Tor stepped forward and ineffectually tried again. “I’m imagining you wearing pink leather boots.”

They were stymied.

“It’s been two days since I had a drink,” the orc said. “Are you planning to kill me?”

“What are you talking about?” Tee said. “I just poured water over you head.”

“Maybe if we tried a nicer approach?” Ranthir said. “Tell us what we want to know and we’ll give you some food.”

“You tore off my ear and killed my friends and you think I’m going to talk for a little bit of food?”

They shut the closet door and withdrew a little.

“She’s right about one thing,” Tee said. “If we just keep her locked up in there, she’ll die.”

“So?” Elestra asked.

They eventually decided to haul her down to the Imperial Cathedral. There they turned her over to Heth Neferul, explaining that she might be a source of information regarding the group attempting to breach the Banewarrens.

“And what of the lore spell?” Heth asked. “Was it successful, Master Ranthir?”

“Yes,” Ranthir said.

“It told us that the only way through the door was through the use of a magical wish,” Tee lied blithely.

Heth pondered this for awhile. “I will see if such powerful magicks can be acquired for you. In the meantime, continue your efforts to reach the sword. If our questioning of this orc yields any fruit, I will send word to you.”

PLANNING FOR THE MORROW

Returning to the Ghostly Minstrel they spent the better part of an hour cleaning up the coagulate gore and blood that had been spattered across them in the Banewarrens (and only now pausing to reflect on Brother Heth’s blithe reaction to the same).

While the others were finishing up, Tor left the Minstrel and went next door to the Bull and Bear. There he found Iltumar tending the shop. After some small talk (in which Iltumar proved to be his usual, overeager self), Tor asked him if he might be interested in practicing some swordplay the next morning.

“I would love to! Will Mistress Tee be there?”

“No, it would just be me and you,” Tor said. “Is that okay?”

“Of course!”

“Do you own a sword?”

“No, but I can ask Hirus if I might borrow one.”

“Do so,” Tor said. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow.”

Tor returned to the Ghostly Minstrel and gathered the others. Tor explained his plans with Iltumar – if the lad wanted to be a part of something larger, he was hoping to give him a better option than the Brotherhood of Ptolus.

Tor also wanted to try to reach Sir Kabel in Pythoness House as soon as possible, but he was worried that he was still being followed – possibly by agents of the Church.

After discussing their options, Ranthir proposed using a spell of invisibility that the he had studied in Shilukar’s spellbook. Thus cloaked in magick, Tor would be able to easily slip away from the mansion on Nibeck Street and make his way to Pythoness House undetected.

Ranthir wouldn’t be able to cast the spell until morning, but since Tor wasn’t supposed to meet with Sir Kabel until then they decided that the plan was as good as any.

They also wanted to make sure that the sealed door in the Banewarrens couldn’t be opened without them knowing about it. Ranthir would be able to lay a spell which would alert him if the door was opened and Elestra’s connection with the Spirit of the City would allow her to work a similar charm. Between the two of them they should be able to keep the sealed door under constant alarm.

However, these minor magicks were strictly limited in their range: If they were placed upon the sealed door, Ranthir and Elestra would be unable to move much farther east than the edge of Oldtown.

And with that plan in hand, not wanting to leave the door unwatched any longer than necessary, they returned to the Banewarrens. Ranthir laid his spell upon the sealed door and the rest of them set their watches for the night.

Running the Campaign: Let It Ride Interrogation  – Campaign Journal: Session 31D
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

Go to Table of Contents

This is a brief overview of the entirety of House Vladaam, including its members, citizens, business affairs, and criminal enterprises. You can use it to orient yourself as you explore and run the adventure.

LORD VLADAAM

IRISTUL VLADAAM: Leader of the Vladaams. Currently searching the world for hungerswords. (Ptolus, p. 100)

HEIRS

ALIASTER: Eldest brother. Specializes in arcane magic and alchemy.

GATTARA: Eldest sibling. Given to fits of irrational rage. She abandoned arcane studies to become a priestess of the Galchutt.

GODFRED: Younger brother. A lumbering oaf who enjoys violence.

NAVANNA: Younger sister. The de facto leader of the family in Ptolus. Mostly keeps out of the public eye.

The heirs are described in more detail in Part 2: The Vladaam Family.

HOUSE ESTATE

Vladaam is one of the smaller houses, claiming a total deot of 636 citizens. (However, it’s suspected that their actual total may be higher due to shadow members of the deot who participate in criminal activities.)

NOTABLE PROPERTIES:

The Vladaams own dozens of properties throughout Ptolus and many more through their various guilds (see below). Notable properties include:

• Vladaam Family Estate (Part 5)
• Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother (Part 6)
• Alchemical Labs (Part 7)
• Oldtown Apartments (Part 15)

PROPERTY LEASES:

If a search of a property’s deed is made at the Administration Building — DC 25 Charisma (Investigation), -1 per 5 gp of bribe, minimum DC 15 —the following ownership can be discovered:

• The ownership of any guild’s properties is generally in the name of the guild (and these guilds are recognized as being part of House Vladaam’s deot).
• The deed for the Abandoned Temple of the Great Mother is held by the Red Company of Goldsmiths.
• The Alchemical Labs are all directly owned by House Vladaam, except for the Storefront on Guilder Street (which is officially the Red Company of Alchemists).
• The Curse Dens are all owned by Marcus Corellius (Curse Den Master).
• The Oldtown Apartments are all directly owned by House Vladaam.
• The Slave Trade Warehouse is owned by Marcus Corellius (Curse Den Master).
• The Undead Shipping Warehouse is officially owned by the Guild of Silver Seamstresses (an organization that doesn’t actually exist, but pays its taxes regularly).

NOTABLE HOUSE GUILDS

The house guilds of the Vladaams are also known as the Red Companies. (The Red Company of Glaziers, for example.) The house controls a couple dozen guilds of various sizes and importance. Notable red companies are listed below.

RED COMPANY OF ALCHEMISTS

Red Company of Alchemists. Officially operating out of a building on Guilder Street, the Red Company of Alchemists maintains a network of secret alchemy labs around the city for making illicit substances. (Part 7: Alchemical Labs)

RED COMPANY OF FLETCHERS

Well-known for the distinctive black shafts of their arrows. These arrows have become particularly favored by assassins in Ptolus, although the Vladaams deny any direct connection. After all, anyone is free to purchase their guildcraft; they have no control over what they do with it after that.

The Red Company of Fletchers also maintains a black market in dreadwood arrows. They harvest the wood from an underground grove maintained by the guild. (Part 10: Guild – Dreadwood Grove)

RED COMPANY OF FOUNDERS

Publicly a guild of brass and bronze workers. In practice, however, this guild has become the focal point for Vladaam research into chaositech.

Word on the street is that the Shuul believe the Red Company of Founders is responsible for a recent theft from the Foundry. They have been unwilling to make an official complaint due to the prestige of House Vladaam, but they are currently looking to hire some mercenaries to steal their goods back. (Part 11: Guild – Founders’ Workshop)

RED COMPANY OF GLAZIERS

Essentially the only guild in Ptolus specializing in paned glass. They achieve this distinction – and the monopolistically high prices that come with it – by virtue of violently shutting down competitors. (The term “glass-shatterer” has become common slang in Ptolus for guild-on-guild violence.)

The company also supplies alchemical glassware.

RED COMPANY OF GOLDSMITHS

A small metal-working guild. The Vladaams use it to launder stolen funds and goods from their other enterprises. (Part 12: Guild – Goldsmiths)

RED COMPANY OF MAGI

This is a wizard’s guild directly under the control of Aliaster Vladaam. Although relatively small by some standards, in the shadow of the Inverted Pyramid, the Red Company of Magi is one of the largest groups of organized spellcrafting in Ptolus. (Part 13: Guild – Red Company of Magi)

The group is ostensibly dedicated to research, but the junior members of the company are deeply enmeshed into the illegal activities of the Vladaam family (providing arcane might where and when it’s necessary). The company’s dedication to research is not entirely a sham, however: The senior members of the company – referred to as “Archmages” – are often pursuing arcane research.

RED COMPANY OF SURVEYORS

This company of mapmakers rose to prominence nearly three centuries ago when they began producing incredibly detailed maps of the Teeth of Light based on the exploration ships that were sent into the southern reaches of the island chain by Yrkyth Vladaam. These charts greatly expanded trade throughout the Whitewind Sea during the decades leading up to the Great Sea War.

The Red Company of Surveyors still uses as its mark the great seal Yrkyth used when he was head of the household. It’s also said that the company was intimately involved in the creation of Yrkyth’s “Enigma Engine”. The company’s influence considerably declined following Yrkyth’s disappearance in 651 IA, but continues to be known for their accurate navigation charts.

The company’s chart-making workshop is located in Oldtown. Their apprentices work as boy messengers on the Docks, purchasing interesting chart data from docking ship captains. (Some of these apprentices are part of Part 18: Vladaam Drug Running.)

The guild uses a diamond-feather badge (representing the quills of the cartographers, but also having deeper meanings for the Brotherhood of Yrkyth).

See the Brotherhood of Yrkyth, below, and Part 14: Guild – Surveyors’ Headquarters.

RED COMPANY OF PAINTERS

Colloquially known on the streets as the “Forgers’ Guild”. They provide portraiture and murals of all kinds, but fifteen years ago they were involved in a minor scandal involving their forgeries. The company was able to successfully weasel their way out of it by claiming that the works were merely imitations and were never meant to actually deceive anyone.

RED COMPANY OF PAVIORS

Responsible for laying much of the original roadwork for Rivergate, the company still holds license for maintaining most of those paving stones and also the maintenance of the Rivergate Bridge.

A century ago, the Red Company of Paviors was involved in a scandal involving repeated sabotage of the Wings Fall Bridge. Their tolling rights for the Rivergate Bridge were stripped from them, but the Vladaams responded by getting all bridge tolls banned within the city.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

BROTHERHOOD OF YYRKYTH

The Brotherhood of Yyrkyth is a secret society founded by Yrkyth Vladaam in 600 IA. Its membership is primarily made up of the senior members of the Red Company of Surveyors and the captains of the Fleet of Iron Sails.

In the early decades of the 7^th century, the Brotherhood coordinated the gathering of arcane knowledge from the arcane isles of the Whitewind Sea using the Fleet of Iron Sails and the Red Company of Surveyors. They were also involved in the creation of Yrkyth’s “Enigma Engine” (the plans for which are still held in their secret headquarters beneath the Red Company of Surveyors). Following Yrkyth’s disappearance in 651 IA, the Brotherhood withdrew itself into a greater cloak of secrecy.

The Brotherhood is deeply tied to a variety of Vladaam activities, but is notable because none of the current Vladaam family are members. It’s a secret within a secret. However, the Brotherhood does arrange for certain arcane information gathered by the Brotherhood to be transmitted to the family for its benefit. (For example, the Brotherhood was responsible for forging the family’s connection with the dark dwarves in Catar, which resulted in the family gaining the services of the dark dwarf alchemy masters. See Part 7: Alchemical Labs.)

The sign of the brotherhood are four quills laid over each other to form the pattern of a diamond.

See Part 14: Guild – Surveyor’s Headquarters.

CURSE DENS

These dens of iniquity feature a rich drug culture mixed with strange curse magicks and gambling. (Part 8: Curse Dens)

DRUG RUNNING

The Vladaams deal primarily in three drugs. The Fleet of Iron Sails (see Part 9) is used to smuggle in Snakeweed and Abyss Dust from Freeport, while the slave trade (Part 16) is used to create Liquid Pain. (See Vladaam Drug Running.)

ITHILDIN COURIERS

The Vladaams also run one of the many companies of couriers in Ptolus. The Ithildin Couriers carry small badges of ithildin (a decorative silver that glows at night but is dull and almost invisible during the day) and are notable for three reasons: First, they operate primarily at night, a time when most other courier services are either shut down or operating at a reduced capacity. (This has also earned them the nickname of “the night couriers”.)

Second, the ithildin badges they carry provide a rudimentary form of message authentication. The message sender takes the badge and speaks a password to it. The receiver can then speak the same password and the ithildin will flash brightly.

Finally, they carry the full and brutal protection of House Vladaam. No one dares to interfere with an Ithildin Courier, and that includes the Watch.

As a result, the Ithildin Couriers are one of the most secure methods for sending a message in the city.

FLEET OF IRON SAILS

The Vladaams maintain a fleet of trade ships which are active throughout the Whitewind Sea. They are notable for their dull grey sails. The current Fleet of the Iron Sails contains 18 ships. See Part 9: Fleet of Iron Sails and Part 16: Slave Trade Ships.

Note that all ship captains of the Fleet of Iron Sails are members of the Brotherhood of Yrkyth.

SLAVE TRADE

The Vladaams are involved in the slave trade in two ways.

• The Fleet of Iron Sails – specifically the Pride of Morrain, Eye of the East, and Sarathyn’s Sail – are regularly used to transport slaves for the Ennin. These ships collect slaves from the Teeth of Light and deliver them to the Ennin Headquarters (Ptolus, p. 168).
• The Vladaams maintain a warehouse as a place where the Ennin can temporarily store slaves who are going to be sold at the Ennin Slave Market (Ptolus, p. 399). It’s used as either an overflow storage facility or as a place to move the current stock of the Slave Market if  it’s threatened by law enforcement. The Vladaams offer this service gratis in exchange for being allowed to use the slaves to process Liquid Pain (see Drug Running, above).

See Part 16: Slave Trade.

UNDEAD SHIPPING

The Vladaams maintain a black market for undead in Ptolus based out of a warehouse in the South Market. See Part 17: Undead Shipping Warehouse.

Go to Part 2: The Vladaam Family